


And Marriage is an Honorable Estate...

by blancanieve



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Angst, BAMF Dr. M'Benga, Emotional pain, Established Relationship, F/M, Family and crew support, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Made up medical science, Medical Procedures, Post-Star Trek: Into Darkness, Sick Bones, Worried Jim, marriage plans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-20
Updated: 2016-05-23
Packaged: 2018-06-02 06:41:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 27,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6555727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blancanieve/pseuds/blancanieve
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Enterprise crew is going to enjoy three weeks of shore leave while the ship is in for repairs.  Jim and Bones' wedding plans are well underway.  Invitations have been sent to friends and family, when suddenly a cruel twist of fate changes everything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

**And Marriage is an Honorable Estate....**

 

 **"Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday.**  
**Mawage, that bwessed awangment, that dweam wifin a dweam…**  
**And wuv, tru wuv, will fowow you foweva…**  
**So tweasure your wuv. "**

**From "The Princess Bride"**

 

Jim sat back in his chair in his Ready Room, careful to keep his face serious and professional as he leaned forward nto his comm to speak with the Admiral. He was, in fact, feeling absolutely jubilant about the new orders that he'd just received. In two weeks _Enterprise_ would be back in the Sol system and the entire crew would be shuttled to San Francisco for a three week furlough!

"Yes, Admiral, I'm looking at our new orders right now. They state that in 14 days we'll dock at the Utopia Planitia Shipyards for our first routine 18 month maintenance, cleaning, repaint and repair rotation. Hate to say it, but the _Enterprise's_  exterior is looking a little shabby.  Mr. Scott and I are not too happy about it. Her name and registry number need to be repainted right away, Sir, she is the flagship of the Fleet after all. The warp core needs to be shut down, recalibrated and cold started. The impulse engines need routine maintenance, plus the whole interior of the ship, the floors, bulkheads, ceilings, all offices, cabins, the labs, the bridge, Med Bay, Engineering, transporter bays, and the docking bays, all need cleaning and repainting. Scotty also wants to take apart the bio-filters for a complete overhaul. With so many unknown pathogens, spores, and viruses out there he's paranoid about the filters....and so is Dr. McCoy,'" he added.

Admiral Crispin Northcutt nodded in understanding. The Admiral was the newest and youngest Rear Admiral in Star Fleet. He was still only in his early forties, a tall, trim, handsome man, with gunmetal grey hair cut regulation short, piecing gray eyes and broad shoulders. With the Admiralty ranks still decimated and stretched far too thin after Khan's rampage and Marcus' treason, he'd been promoted quickly by dint of his hard work, great instincts, and masterful tactical skills. His new role as Rear Admiral put him in charge of all the remaining Constitution Star Ships and their Captains, so he was now Jim's new commanding officer. His low key, understated, even handed, yet firm command of all things _Enterprise_ , and of her young Captain, reminded Jim in many ways of his mentor, his friend, Admiral Chris Pike. That little surge of grief Jim always felt when he thought of Chris' death rose in him, but he pushed it firmly away to concentrate on the here and now.

Jim and Admiral Northcutt had taken an immediate liking to one another. Jim was relieved to have someone in command that he could respect and work with so well, someone to fill, at least a little, the still painful, empty hole that the death of Chris Pike had left in him. Jim's sharp grief had softened with time, but he knew he'd mourn the death of his friend, surrogate father and mentor for the rest of his life. Losing Chris had been like losing another parent. If it hadn't been for Bones' steady presence in his life after Khan, Jim knew he would have succumbed to rage, despair and rampant PTSD and he would surely have lost command of his ship.

There was always a slight time lapse present with a live vid link to and from SF headquarters in San Francisco before Jim's voice reached the Admiral. "I'll have Mr. Spock and the department heads start scheduling shore leave for the crew and inform Commander Scott that he'll be the one left on board to supervise what needs to be done. He'll be happy to have all of us out of his hair with the entire ship to himself." Jim smiled at the thought of his Chief Engineer supervising a myriad of Planitia yard dogs as they worked on  _Enterprise_.

Northcutt returning the smile, nodded in understanding. All the CEs were notoriously possessive and secretly believed that the Fleet ships they served on really belonged to them. He glanced down at his padd. "I've also received your formal request for a change of status for you and Dr McCoy, Jim. Congratulations! That's great news, I'm happy for you both."

"Thank you, Admiral." Jim beamed. "We're very happy and now with these new orders we can actually go ahead with our wedding plans. Bones and I would be honored if you would attend the ceremony and the small reception afterward, Sir. It's going to be as simple, private and low key as we can manage. Just our immediate families, my senior bridge crew, Ambassador Sarek, Mr. Scott, Mr. Keenser, Dr M'Benga and Nurse Chapel. We're keeping the whole thing a secret in the hopes the media doesn't hear about it, or the PR people in Fleet either." He shuddered remembering the media circus he and the crew had endured after Narada and again after Khan.

Starfleet PR had used the _Enterprise_  crew shamelessly to mitigate some of the terrible press that the top brass received for harboring the traitor, Admiral Marcus, within the highest ranks of Fleet for so long. Jim and his heroic crew symbolized the best of Starfleet, and, after all that happened, Fleet's image had to be practically reinvented by shifting the media's focus from the clusterfuck that was the Admiralty to _Enterprise's_ best and brightest. Jim had still been recovering in the hospital so he'd been fiercely shielded by Bones and his vigilant crew. He'd only endured the tail end of the media storm, but it had been a nightmare for most of his crew, especially his command crew and poor Carol Marcus. She had been relentlessly pursued, persecuted and hounded until finally, with Starfleet's blessing, she'd been forced to take a leave of absence from her duty assignment to retreat to England to her mother. 

"I haven't told a soul, Jim, nor will I. You and Doctor McCoy can tell the rest of the Admiralty and anyone else whenever you want to do so. I've signed off on your request for the change of status and it's going into my encrypted files. Yes," the Admiral said, looking pleased, "thank  you for inviting me, I'd be honored to attend."

"That's great, Sir. You're it as far as Fleet is concerned. I'll send you all the particulars with the invitation as soon as Bones and I finalize our plans." Jim couldn't keep the wide smile off his face.

The Admiral smiled back."I'll wait for it." He leaned back in his chair. "I think that's everything for today then. Good to talk with you as always, Jim. Give Dr. McCoy my regards and congratulations. I'll see you very soon. Northcutt out."

"Kirk out." Jim stood, saluted and turned off his comm. He looked at the chronometer, saw it was slightly past the end of Alpha shift so time to log out and eat his dinner. Bones was on Beta this ten day schedule but they made it a point to meet for dinner before the doctor reported for his shift in the Med Bay. Jim smiled as he thought of how pleased Bones would be at the news that now they could start planning their wedding. He went back to the bridge, signed off his shift, dismissed Spock and his senior crew then logged in the Beta bridge crew. "Have a good shift, everyone," he told them as Lt. Hannitty settled in the Captain's chair.

"Have a good evening, Captain," they all chorused as he stepped into the lift. "Mess," he told the lift computer.

He walked into the mess, his eyes automatically searching for Bones at their usual table. The doctor was already sitting with his food tray and reading from a padd in front of him. Jim got his food choices, set his tray on the table, and sat down across from Bones. The hazel eyes lifted from the padd to meet his own and Bones gave Jim a soft smile of welcome.

"Hi darlin'. How was your comm meeting with Admiral Northcutt? Everything okay?"

Jim grinned. "Yeah. It was good, real good, Bones. We've been ordered to return to Earth for three weeks. The ship is due for its regular cleaning and repair rotation at the Utopia Planitia Shipyard so everyone will have to vacate the ship. Scotty will stay on board to oversee all the repairs, cleaning and upgrades!" He leaned in. "We're gonna' get married, Dr. McCoy! So it's time for all the angels in heaven to start blowing those trumpets and commence singing," he whispered, his blue eyes glowing, his smile so sweet, so happy, that McCoy felt warmth bloom all over his body at the incandescent joy he saw on Jim's face. Of everyone on the ship, only McCoy knew that Jim’s happiness was always a very fragile thing. Very early on, he'd realized that Jim, no matter how positive and happy go lucky he seemed, was always poised, always on guard, always stoically prepared for that happiness to somehow be snatched away from him. Since then, Leonard had made it one of his priorities, aside from keeping Jim healthy and fit, to guard and keep Jim's happiness safe to the very best of his ability. A happy smile from Jim was what Leonard worked for on any given day.

Leonard returned the smile with one of his own, his dimples out in full force. "That's great news, darlin'! So for sure it's time to start planning our wedding then," he whispered back. Jim’s face brightened even more.

"Absolutely!" Jim said, looking down at his food and tucking in enthusiastically. "Scotty, Spock and I will have our hands full till we dock. We’re going to have to go through the whole ship prioritizing what has to be done for every department and deck, but I promise you, Bones, that our wedding plans will still take precedent over everything else. After what we went through on New Vulcan nothing and no one is going to get in the way of our plans." Jim's eyes darkened with remembered anguish as he recalled Selek's interference and how close he'd come to losing Bones. 

Bones sat back and looked at Jim. He was a doctor to his soul, so his keen clinical eyes scanned and diagnosed Jim quickly and automatically. The Captain was looking very tired and even paler than usual and he'd also lost weight _._ The navy flecks in Jim's blue eyes which were always more pronounced when he was stressed, exhausted, or injured, showed prominently, and his eyes were a little bloodshot with fatigue.

Their last mission had been a difficult one, First Contact missions were always problematical. There had been hostilities, though, thankfully, no fatalities during the mission before Jim's diplomatic skills had finally assured its successful outcome. After things had calmed down, Jim had conducted days of tense negotiations and he had hardly slept or eaten to McCoy's constant worry. Leonard had even accompanied Jim down to the planet a couple of times to keep an eye on him. Spock had tried to help Jim as much as he could, but the planetary leaders would deal only with the Captain.

"No time, Bones, don't have time. I promise I'll rest afterward," he kept telling the fretting doctor as he rushed off from one negotiation meeting to another.

"Jim, I've been thinkin'," said the doctor, his hazel eyes fixed on the bloodshot azure ones. "I'm on Beta shift for the next ten day rotation. Beta shift is usually pretty damn slow. Christine and I sometimes struggle to find ways to keep ourselves busy and awake during our whole shift. Would you be willin' to let me plan the wedding during my free time? I know what we both want; a ceremony that's simple, meaningful, and low key with only our closest friends and families to share the day. We want to have the ceremony at one of the old historic Academy Chapels and have one of the Academy chaplains to officiate. We want to recite traditional marriage vows like those old ones from that antique Book of Common Prayer we looked at the other day that we liked so much, with just those few changes we talked about. You want your mama and Sam standing next to you, and I want Jo and my Mama standing next to me. I promise, darlin', that I'll run every single thing by you before finalizing anything. I've been thinkin' a lot about it and I've jotted down a few ideas for you to look at. Will you trust me with planin' things, Jimmy? It would free up your time so that you, Scotty and the hobgoblin can get the ship ready for Utopia and you'll be all the better for not having more to do or to worry about. You'll be rested for the wedding....and for the honeymoon too," McCoy grinned, mock leering at Jim.

Jim put his fork down, breathed deeply, looking at his Bones. The doctor's face was neutral, relaxed, waiting for Jim to think through his request to answer him. Jim noticed that Bones' hazel eyes were more green than brown today. _Those dammed hazel eyes will be the death of me one of these days_ , Jim thought. Someday he would drown in their swirling gold, green, brown depths and die a happy man.

Jim had no doubt that Bones would do exactly what he said regarding their wedding plans. He would tolerate no interference or let anyone mess with what he and Jim wanted. There had always been a “thus far and no further” quality to Bones' character. He knew how to keep people, namely anyone who annoyed him or tried to interfere in his personal business,  including all the Starfleet muckity mucks and the people he didn't like or respect, at arm's length. He also had no qualms about drawing lines in the sand. Leonard was fiercely protective of those he loved and if some people didn't like or appreciate that tendency it was just too damned bad. Their wedding would be exactly what they both wanted with Bones planning it and there would no interference from anyone else, including Admirals, Fleet PR people, the paparazzi, friends or relatives. Jim felt himself relax at the idea of leaving everything in Bones' very capable hands.

"I think that would be fantastic, Bones! Of course I trust you, it would help me out a lot!" Jim's sunshine smile broke through, although he tried his best to check the giddy feeling that rose in him at the thought of the wedding. There was, after all, no need to lose all his Captainly decorum at the thought that Bones would be his at last, that he'd be bound to Jim in that most committed traditional way, marriage. For years Jim had wanted this man like he had no other, and it was happening at last.

When Bones had squeezed in the seat next to him in that first SF shuttle ride, then shared his flask with him, Jim had looked into those panicked, terrified hazel eyes, at the dark, scruffy, handsome vibe Bones effortless exuded, and he'd fallen hard and instantly. He'd sat there totally stunned, overwhelmed, lost in an unprecedented surge of sheer want. Bewildered, yet absolutely certain beyond any possibility of denial about his feelings, Jim knew right then and there that he was irrevocably doomed just like his mother, to love one person until he died. Bones had in turn become his best friend, his doctor, and finally his lover. Bones had stuck close to Jim through everything. Their first very difficult year at the Academy, Jim's turbulent fight and fuck behavior, his three attempts at the Kobayashi Maru, Nero, Pike's death, Marcus' treason, Khan's rampage, and Jim's death. After Bones had brought Jim back from the dead they had both finally, finally, confessed their feelings for each other. It was inevitable, Jim thought at the time, that it would be Bones who'd showed him how happy his life could be in spite of Jim's broken and wounded past. 

Jim schooled his face from melting into a gooey glow and smirked at the doctor. "Besides you know all about weddings, being a good ole' Georgia boy and having attended a shit load of them." He placed his callused fingers over Bones' wide warm hand and his face turned serious. "Thank you for thinking about helping me out like this Bonesy." He sighed as he thought of all he had to do. "Spock, Scotty and I will have very little time for anything else these next ten days." Nothing and no one must ever interfere with his responsibility to the ship. The ship, it was always the ship.  _Enterprise_  always had to come first for it was the shelter, the refuge, and the bastion that kept all his beloved crew safe out here in the black.

"I do have one proviso though," Jim said, tightening his grasp as Bones turned his own large hand over to grip Jim's fingers tightly. "You can plan everything else, but I want to take care of our wedding rings. I have something in mind, but I want it to be a surprise. I promise you the rings will be special, simple, in good taste, and I think you'll really like what I've thought of. Are you okay with that?"

Bones nodded. "Of course I am, darlin'. I know the rings will be beautiful! I trust you completely." They grinned happily at each other.

"So It's a deal then, you plan the wedding and I'm in charge of the rings." Jim said contently, as they solemnly shook hands. Jim looked around the mess. Most of the people on Alpha had finished dinner and had gone to do other things or gone back to their quarters, so the mess was almost completely deserted. He leaned, breathed in the calming scent of Bones' cologne, and pulled at him gently to steal a chaste, soft kiss, his lips lingering in the little divot of Bones upper lip. "You and I married at last," he whispered happily. "I love you so much, Bones McCoy, and I can't wait until we're officially an _us_." His grin widened, teeth flashing white. "It's all about our _wuuv,_ our own true _wuuv_ , dear doctor," Jim sing songed, fluttering his eyelashes at Bones. His face shone with a joy that Bones hadn't seen since he'd received the _Enterprise_ and one other time, the first time they'd made love.

A tinge of pink crept across Leonard's high cheek bones, but he returned the lingering kiss with a soft one of his own. "You're  so beautiful, you know that?" he told Jim suddenly. Jim looked up at him surprised, then a tender smile crossed his face. "I love you too, Jimmy...more than peach pie, more than the air I breathe, more than my life. I cain't wait until we're official either." He looked down and frowned at his chronometer. "Well hells bells, that's gonna have to be the end of this sappy conversation, Captain Sunshine. I have to go on shift, and you need to go get some rest. You're looking real tired. I want you to try for a good ten hours of sleep...no arguments about having to do reports tonight." He scowled at Jim, then reached up to rub irritably at his forehead, the groove between his eyebrows much more pronounced than usual.

Jim frowned at him. "Do you have a headache, Bones?"

"Yeah, seem to be getting one. Damned annoyin' just before my shift. I'll take something for it when I get to the Med Bay or Chapel will nag at me."

"See that you do. Physician heal thyself and all that shit," grinned Jim, but he cast a concerned glance at Bones' brow furrow. Bones seldom complained about anything much less a headache. Even back at the Academy, after an evening of bar hopping and serious drinking, he'd never complained of a hangover headache the next morning. Jim couldn't remember a single time that Bones had ever been sick.

"I hear you, Captain," Bones told him, as they put their trays away and headed towards the lift. "Don't wanna' spend my whole shift fighting a headache...I'll take care of it right away."

Jim followed him into the lift. "I am beat," he admitted sheepishly. He yawned hugely and leaned his head tiredly against the bulkhead. "Sleepy too," he murmured. "But I never sleep well if you're not in bed with me," he sighed. "I'll miss my warm Southern heater."

"I know, darlin' I'll miss you too, but you need to rest. I'll let Spock and Janice know not to disturb you and I'll creep into bed with you at the end of Beta." He leaned in and kissed whatever skin he could reach quickly as the lift doors opened on deck 7 to let him off. "Goodnight, Jimmy, sleep well." McCoy said.

"Night, Bones."

Jim walked into their dark quarters. "Lights 10 percent," he told the computer, he toed off his boots, stripped and left his uniform in a messy pile on the floor by the bed, too tired to even put it in the hamper. He spent 5 minutes in the sonic, put on warm sleep pants and a t-shirt, knowing he'd be cold without Bones' arms and legs wrapped around him, dropped face down on the bed and was asleep instantly.

The insistent beeping of his comm awakened him and he sat up, rubbing at his face. He checked his chronometer, 1:10 am ship's time. "What the hell, " he muttered. "Bones told them not to bother me."

"Kirk here. This better be important," he mumbled sleepily.

"Captain." It was Chapel' voice, sounding strained.

Jim became instantly alert. "What's up, Christine?"

"Captain...Jim. I need you in Med Bay. It's Doctor McCoy." Her voice faltered. "You need to come right now."

Jim sprang up from the bed, his heart suddenly thudding hard in his chest, blood rushing to his ears. He drew in a harsh stuttering breath. "What is it! Christine? Is Bones alright?" He grabbed his uniform pants and black t shirt, and hurriedly pulled on his boots.

"I called Dr. M'Benga in, Captain. I went into Dr. McCoy's office to check on him because he hadn't come out to make his rounds. Since he became CMO, he's never once failed to make his rounds, even when we've only got one patient and they're asleep, he still checks. When I went in, I found the doctor unconscious, passed out on his desk. He was burning up and delirious. I couldn't wake him. He's been put in one of the isolation rooms until we know what this is, Sir. The Antipyretic Dr M'Benga prescribed for the fever hasn't worked at all so we're trying cooling sheets changed every 15 minutes to lower his temperature and he's also on a rehydration IV.  Dr. M'Benga is running extensive diagnostic tests on Dr. McCoy." Christine's voice sounded strained. "The doctor says you need to come now, but you'll need to put on a mask, gloves and gown to be safe, Captain. Dr. M'Benga has also put me in isolation until he has a diagnosis because I touched Leonard. He said once he knows what we're dealing with, he'll decide if he can release me so I can help him with Dr. McCoy.." 

"I'm on my way, Christine," Jim choked out, terror rising in him as he ran out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

  
**"Ye are Blood of my Blood, and Bone of my Bone,**  
**I give ye my Body, that we Two might be One.**  
**I give ye my Spirit, 'til our Life shall be Done."**

  
**Diana Gabaldon**

Jim pressed his forehead against the lift bulkhead trying to calm himself. "Deck 7," he ground out to the lift computer. His heart thudded erratically and he pressed his shaking hands hard against the lift door as he tried to contain his rising panic, although it was already too late for that. He felt icy fingers of fear clawing at his frantically beating heart. _No, no no. This is not happening. Not when Bones and I are so happy; the universe couldn't be that cruel. What the hell could be wrong with Bones_? He raised his head from the bulkhead as he suddenly remembered Bones' headache coming on at dinner. Had that been the beginning of this illness, whatever it was?

The lift opened and Jim threw himself out, straight through the Med Bay doors. There was a med tech waiting for him. "Captain, please come this way. Dr. M'Benga is waiting for you outside of Dr.McCoy's isolation room."

Jim found Geoffrey M'Benga standing outside the main isolation room looking intently at what was happening on the other side of the transparent triridium window.

  
There were three gloved, goggled, masked, shoe covered, gowned nurses around Leonard's bed. One of them carried a folded green sheet and when he motioned to the other two, they removed the sheet draped over Leonard. Bones was on his back on the bio bed with all the monitors above his head lit up by the telemetry read outs. He appeared to be deeply unconscious, dressed only in his black briefs with his stomach, chest and shoulders bare. The three nurses unfolded the new sheet, draping it over the doctor, covering him from his feet to his neck, tucking it in carefully and tightly all around his torso. A small green towel was then placed on his forehead.. The three nurses stepped back and one of them glanced up at the large wall chronometer to make a notation of the time in her padd. The three sat down close to Bones.

"Geoffrey." Jim said hoarsely, coming to stand beside him. "What happened?"

M'Benga turned to face him, his face grave. "Captain."

Jim stepped up to the window and looked at Bones. He ran his hand over his stubbled face and tried to pull himself together so he could get some answers from M'Benga. "What's wrong with Bones? What's happened? Why is he in isolation?" Jim clutched  at M'Benga's arm, his face ravaged and white. "I need to see him, Geoffrey, get me in there."

M'Benga grasped him gently by the elbow and drew him into a little alcove by the isolation room where they could speak privately. His kind, worried eyes met Jim's. "Captain, you can't go in yet and when you do you'll have to be properly gowned and gloved." He sighed tiredly. "I've run all kinds of tests on Leonard because I just couldn't believe my initial diagnosis so I double checked and triple checked to make sure. Somehow Leonard had contracted Vegan Choriomeningitis."

Jim tore his gaze from Bones and looked at him incomprehensibly. "What the hell is that?

M'Benga drew in a breath. "It's a very rare disease, Captain. It's viral in nature, and it's extremely aggressive and virulent, as it it attacks the central nervous system. In layman's terms it attacks the brain, the spinal cord and the optic nerve. And as if that wasn't bad enough, Vegan Choriomeningitis also attacks the large muscle groups of the legs, arms and torso and is extremely painful. Leonard has all the symptoms which includes a very high fever, severe pain in the arms and legs, headache and delirium. His symptoms were so definite that I ran the viral test for VC right away. I was very concerned because the virus can kill a patient if not treated aggressively within 24 hours of the initial infection. We're treating Dr.McCoy very aggressively with antivirals, strong pain medication and antipyretics, which unfortunately are not working, so now we're trying to bring his fever down the old fashioned way with cold sheets rotated every 15 minutes. His fever spiked at 40.4 C and in an adult that's dangerously high. If the cold sheets don't start working soon, I'm going to have to pack him in an ice bath."

"But...but...I don't understand, how did he get so sick so fast? Bones never gets sick.” Jim asked, bewildered. "Bones is going to be alright, isn't he, Geoffrey? You can cure this virus?" 

When M'Benga didn't answer, a frisson of terror ran through Jim. "Geoffrey? He'll be alright won't he?"

"I hope so, Captain. Leonard's a strong, healthy, young man and we're treating all his symptoms as they arise. It's that high fever that's concerning me the most right now. We'll see how he responds to the cold sheets after an hour. However, Captain, there's another urgent issue that we have to address as quickly as possible, and for that, I'm going to need Mr. Spock's assistance." He rubbed at his eyes tiredly. "What we need to discover, and it's imperative that we do so as quickly as possible, is how the hell Leonard contracted this virus?"

"What do you mean how did he get it? Didn't he get it from someone else? Or is it one of those airborne viruses that floats around that you just pick up?"

"No, Captain, it's not airborne. VC is passed from person to person by skin to skin contact, even the most casual and benign kind of contact, a bump on the shoulder, a pat on the back, etc. That's why it's so dangerous. Vegan Choriomeningitis is one of those viruses that Starfleet Medical fears and rightly so. It's one of the most lethal in the list of the most dangerous known viruses in the Federation. Thank goodness we've had a vaccine for it for many years. All SF personnel, without exception, are routinely immunized during their entry physicals when every recruit receives their immunizations panel. Every crew member on this ship had already received their initial immunizations when they enlisted. When they came on board prior to our current mission, they received their immunization booster panels. Dr. McCoy is meticulous about things like that. I checked all his records and every one of us, including Leonard, received the complete booster panel. The Vegan Choriomeningitis vaccine was included in that panel. Leonard should not have contracted the virus, Captain, and that's what makes this a very dangerous situation. I've sent his blood samples to the lab to check his vaccine markers for the possibility of a mutated VC virus. We have to find out how this happened as quickly as possible, because there may be other crew members who are at risk." He looked worriedly at Jim. "We're also going to have to take blood samples from every single crew member to analyze their vaccine marker strength and to check for any variant form of the virus. It may have mutated, Sir. But first, we need to know if the vaccine SF used was weak or defective in some way, or if this a new or slightly different strain of the virus. Until we have some definitive answers about how Leonard contracted VC, the ship is at risk for an epidemic and we absolutely cannot disembark at the Utopia Planitia Shipyards."

Jim's already pale face blanched even further. His whole crew at risk! How the hell could this have happened? Starfleet Medical was both rigorous and ruthless when it came to the safety of those who served. He thought back to his first days at the Academy and his thorough physical exam plus the endless number of hated hypos that he'd had to endure. When he'd been given his Captaincy, he'd had another round of intense physical and psychological exams and yet more hypos. He knew the Med Bay staff vetted each incoming crew member as soon as they boarded the ship, no exceptions. Bones and his staff were meticulous about following proper procedure. No one was more conscientiousness about the crew's health than Bones. If anything, he went overboard in his care of all of them.

He wrenched his thoughts away from Bones and took a couple of unsteady breaths to get his head into Captain mode. He had to think of ways and means to keep his crew safe. "What do you need, Geoffrey? How can we help you?"

"I'm going to need all of Mr, Spock's Science personnel working on this with me, Captain. I'll need the blood panels on the Med Bay staff, the senior bridge officers, and the Science department staff first. Hopefully I can clear them so they'll be able to help me get blood samples from the entire crew."

"You've got it. I'll let Mr. Spock know." He flipped open his communicator. "Kirk to Spock."

"Spock here, Captain."

"Please report to the Med Bay isolation unit immediately, Mr. Spock."

"I will be right there, Sir. Spock out."

Geoffrey continued. "I'm going to start with Christine, Captain, and hopefully clear her. I'll need her to help me organize things. I'll also check you immediately; this ship needs its Captain."

Jim nodded his agreement when a faint ping from the isolation room interrupted them. They both turned to watch the nurses remove the sheet then put a another cold sheet over Leonard. One of the nurses checked the readout on the bio bed and toggled the intercom. "Dr. M'Benga, Dr. McCoy's temperature has gone down 4 tenths of a degree. "

"Good! That's good news. Keep at it," the doctor told them. He turned back to Jim, relief written on his face. "That's the first time his temperature has gone down since Christine found him," he said.

"That's a good sign, right? Jim asked, blue eyes hopeful.

"Yes, Captain. It's the first hopeful sign we've had so far."

"I need to go in there, Geoffrey, I need to be with Bones."

M'Benga nodded. "Let me take your blood sample and then you can suit up and go in, Sir. You may touch him, but only with gloved hands. Do not under any circumstances remove your mask, goggles or your gloves." He looked at Jim sternly. "Do you understand, Captain? No skin to skin contact at all."

Jim nodded absently, his whole focus and attention fixed on Bones.

M'Benga brought him an isolation gown kit and Jim put on the gown and cap. The doctor brought out three test tubes and a hypo and Jim put his arm out for the blood draw. After he filled the three vials, M'Benga helped Jim with his mask, goggles, boot covers, and gloves making sure there was no skin on his arms or hands visible. Jim went to the isolation door and stood still until it showed green. He walked inside and waited. The second isolation door light stayed red until Jim's decontamination was complete. The decontamination process worked two ways, going into the isolation room and coming out. It would not do for anyone to carry in additional pathogens to an already very sick, compromised, patient. When the light turned green, Jim walked slowly to Bones' bed. The three nurses politely moved away from the bed to give the Captain a little privacy.

Jim looked down at Bones, dropped his head and breathed deeply through his nose, in and out, in and out, until he got hold of himself. There was a hectic red flush on Bones' high cheekbones, his dark lashes fluttered as he murmured restlessly in his delirium. The dark lock of hair that always resisted all of Bones' efforts at taming, rested on his forehead and Jim automatically brought up his hand to brush it back. With a gentle finger he tried to smooth the furrow creasing Bones' forehead. A sudden sting of hot tears welled and Jim blinked them back furiously. He needed to stay strong. Bones would expect him to be strong, as strong as the doctor always was when Jim came in to the Med Bay wounded, stabbed, poisoned, beaten up, or even at death's door. Jim knew what it cost Bones to be that rock of strength he always was when Jim needed him to be.

Jim picked up Bones' lax hand and stroked it gently, then he brought it up to his lips, and through the mask, reverently kissed the palm and the tip of each beautiful long finger.

"Bonsey," Jim told him softly, "I'm here, baby. You're in the Med Bay. You've gotten some godawful, shitty virus, but Geoffrey and the nurses are taking good care of you. You're going to be fine, Bones, you are. You just have to get over this fever. You gotta' wake up, sweetheart, so I know you're getting better. I really need to see those gorgeous hazel eyes," Jim whispered fiercely. He bent his head and through the mask, pressed a tender kiss on Bones' temple. "Oh, Bones," Jim murmured, "I love you so much, please wake up, I can't do this, I can't be a good Captain without you." Jim scooched himself closer to Bones' ear. "We're getting married in two weeks, remember?" he whispered. "How can we get married if you're not awake? You have to hurry and get well so we can walk up the aisle together. Please, Bones," he choked out, "please get better."

Bones had to be okay. Jim couldn't lose him, he just couldn't. There would be no point to his life if Bones wasn't in it. Jim stood there too afraid to consider the possibility of what that life would be like without Bones; if he would ever again hear his voice, or be able to meet him for a meal at the mess, or have him waiting for Jim in their bed, always ready, always eager to make love. He couldn't be alone again. He was Bones' and Bones was his and James T. Kirk did not let go of what was his, not now, not ever

Jim shut his eyes tightly willing those images away. He gently stroked the face he loved more than his life and thought instead of all they'd been to each other through the years; from the beginning of their friendship, to being roommates, to that first earth shaking, deal-sealing kiss, to moving in together into the Captain's quarters, and finally to their upcoming marriage. He thought of all the things he wanted from his marriage to Bones, the things he whispered in his ear in the dark intimacy of their bed. He thought of the small things, waffles and coffee in the mornings, bickering about taking out the trash and picking up dirty clothes, arguing about where they should go on vacation, what vid they should watch, should they get a dog...all those things that make a life both precious, yet ordinary. Besides the small everyday things, he wanted his life with Bones to be about the big things too, the epic kind of things....like how long should they stay in the black, should they have kids, should they buy a house, and after their tours of duty, should they retire or choose second careers? Jim wanted to be able to talk with Bones about all those big questions and he wanted them to figure out the answers together. He knew he was being greedy, that he wanted it all, everything he'd never had before Bones. He wanted as much of a good life as Bones was willing to share with him, because for a long time now, Jim’s heart had been entrusted to and held in those warm, beautiful surgeon's hands.

"Captain." Spock's voice through the intercom, interrupted his thoughts.

"I'm coming, Spock." He bent and gave Bones one more tender kiss and whispered in his ear, "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Jim stepped out of the decon door stripped of his gown, goggles, boot covers, gloves, and mask. They were automatically disintegrated and disposed of by the system before the exterior door would open. Spock, hands behind his back, head tilted, listened attentively as Dr. M'Benga filled him in on Leonard's condition.

He turned as Jim came up to them. "Captain. Dr. M'Benga has brought me up to date on what has transpired and how the Science department personnel can assist him." His stance was rigid, but his brown eyes were soft and compassionate. "How is Dr. McCoy?"

"Not too good, Spock." Jim tried to smile, but the effort failed. It was a battle to keep the force of his emotions off his face and it was a battle Jim was sure he was losing if Spock's sympathetic gaze was any indication. "Geoffrey and his staff are taking great care of him."

"Of that I have no doubt, Captain."

M'Benga brandished a hypo. "Mr. Spock, I need to get your blood sample now and please ask the rest of the senior crew to report to the Med Bay to give the lab techs their samples. The staff is already checking Dr. McCoy's, their own blood samples, as well as mine. I already have Christine's and the Captain's. We'll run the tests on the three of you to check on the VC vaccine strength and any possible mutations of the virus right away. The sooner we start eliminating crew, the happier I'll be."

M'Benga quickly drew Spock's blood samples, labeled them, and placed them in the carrying case next to Jim's and Christine's. He paged a tech to take to take them to the lab. "I want these tested immediately," he told the tech.

"Yes, doctor."

"I will ask the senior crew to report to the Med Bay now, Doctor," Spock said, moving toward the door to speak quietly into his comm.

"I'll have to report all this immediately to Admiral Northcutt," Jim told M'Benga. "He'll have to notify Admiral Boyce at Starfleet Medical and the rest of the Admiralty. I'll give him an initial report and update him after you run the blood tests."

Spock stepped back to them. "The senior crew is on their way to the main Med Bay, doctor. I cautioned them against saying anything until you notify the entire ship about the necessity of the blood tests."

M'Benga nodded. "I'd like to schedule the blood tests for your Science department personnel immediately after the senior crew, Mr. Spock. I'll need them to assist the Med Bay staff in drawing the crew's blood samples and testing them. With such a large crew, my staff needs all the help your staff can give us. The procedure for drawing the blood samples is very simple, all your Science people know the correct protocol for checking virus markers." He rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Right now I see no point in trying to isolate the crew. I do however want the people drawing the blood samples to be masked and gloved just as an added precaution," he told Spock.

"I will see to it doctor. It is better to err on the side of caution considering the possible consequences. If you will excuse me, Captain, I will meet with the Science Department. With your permission, Sir, I will call in those who are off shift as well."

Jim nodded. "Do what you have to do, Spock, just make it happen."

Dr. M'Benga's comm beeped. "M'Benga here."

"Doctor, this Nurse Russo. I have all the lab results we've run so far. Dr. McCoy's results indicate that his vaccine markers are practically nonexistent, so low in fact, that they provided him with no protection at all. Also, Sir, his markers for a mutated virus are negative."

Jim drew in a shocked breath as Russo continued. He saw M'Benga frown and nod. He had expected those result.

"All the Med Bay staff's blood tests including yours, the three nurses in the isolation room, and Nurse Chapel's are complete. The vaccine marker levels for all of us are normal and there is no indication in any of the samples of a possible mutated VC virus. We're all clear, Doctor. The Captain's and Mr. Spock's tests should be completed shortly."

Doctor M'Benga closed his eyes in relief. "Dr. McCoy's results are what I expected," he told Russo. "The other results are very good news! Thank you, Russo! I'll release Christine from isolation and Dr.McCoy's nurses can dispense with their protective garb now. We're all fully protected by the vaccine. Also Russo, please notify the staff that Mr. Spock and the senior bridge crew as well as all his Science department personnel will be showing up momentarily. Have the staff draw everyone's blood samples ASAP. If all their results are clear, the Science staff will help us with all the crew's blood tests. Mr. Spock will brief all of you, and he'll set up the schedules. Christine and I will be there as soon as possible."

"I'll take care of it, doc. Russo out."

M'Benga reached over, toggled the isolation room internal intercom, and told the nurses the good news. They all gave him a thumbs up and he smiled as they quickly disrobed, pulled off their masks, shoe covers, gloves and goggles and disposed of everything in the biohazard chute.

The doctor turned to Jim. "I confess, Captain, that I'm a bit more hopeful now that we'll be able to avoid an epidemic. If the Med Bay staff is clear, then it's obvious that Leonard didn't get the virus from anyone here in the Med Bay and they couldn't get it from him because all our vaccine markers are normal. So our answer lies elsewhere. Another issue is that the incubation period for VC differs from person to person. It can be up to a month depending on several factors, general health, gender, species, age. We'll know more after the blood test results of the command crew and your own are ready, but we may have to scrutinize every minute of Leonard's life for the past several weeks. "

"We'll do that, all of us; me, Spock, Chtistine, you, the bridge crew and Med Bay staff, we'll account for every minute of Bones' time, but at least now I'll have a little more positive news to share with Admiral Northcutt," Jim said, watching the nurses change Bones' sheet again.

M'Benga comm beeped again and he flipped it open. "Russo here, doctor. Captain Kirk's and Mr. Spock's results just came in, both are normal, the vaccine markers are fine and there are no markers in either of them indicating a possible mutated virus."

Jim relaxed a little at the news. "That's a big relief, Geoffrey. I'll go report in to the Admiral. I'll be back as soon as I'm finished...."

The sudden wail of the bio bed interrupted him. They both turned to see the telemetry read outs on the bed flashing wildly. Bones was thrashing and convulsing violently and the three nurses were frantically trying their best to hold him down.


	3. Chapter 3

**And Marriage is an Honorable Estate...**

**Chapter 3**

**"Two are better than one**  
**because they have a good return for their labor:**  
**If either of them falls down,**  
**one can help the other up.**  
**But pity anyone who falls**  
**and has no one to help them up.**  
**Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.**  
**But how can one keep warm alone?"**  
**Ecclesiastes 4:9-11**

 

"Bones! I'm coming!" Jim pushed frantically at the isolation door trying to get in. "Open, open, damn it!" He hit the door panel in frustration, his eyes riveted on the thrashing figure on the bio bed.

"Wait, Captain!" Dr. M'Benga punched in his override code and both doors to the isolation room opened.

Jim ran to the bio bed. The nurse trying to hold down Bones moved over so Jim could take his place. "Bones, Bones, I'm here! You have to calm down! You'll hurt yourself. Calm down, Bones!" He grabbed Bones by the shoulders and pushed him down with all his considerable strength. Bones continued to struggle in his arms, his eyes still tightly closed, his face contorted in a grimace. Jim held on tight trying to keep Bones from hurting himself.

M'Benga, on the other side, held down his flailing arms. "I need 4 mg. dialorazepan stat," he told the nearest nurse. She quickly handed him the hypo and he injected it in the carotid artery. Almost immediately, the convulsions stopped, Leonard's body suddenly relaxing in Jim's arms.

"Oh my God!" Jim's breath shuddered in his lungs as he stroked a shaky hand down Bones' cheek. He looked at Geoffrey with wild eyes. "What the hell happened?"

"He's alright, Captain. The convulsions are due to the high fever, but his temperature is slowly coming down, it's at 38.9. The cold sheets are working. I'm surprised he didn't have a convulsion before this when his fever was higher. They look frightening, but they're not dangerous in themselves. It's the danger of an injury, hitting something or falling off the bed that we need to watch for. I'll turn on the stasis bars on the sides of the bed to keep that from happening."

Jim slowly let go of Bones' long lean body and looked down at his face. It was true, he looked much better, his face was relaxed, the hectic red flush in his cheeks had calmed down and even the frown between his eyebrows was gone. He was quiet too, no more delirious ramblings. Jim felt some of his fear and worry fade a little, but he knew that until Bones was awake and talking to him he wouldn't be able to let his worry and fear go.

"He does look better," Jim murmured. "How long do you think it'll be before he wakes up, Geoffrey?"

M'Benga looked at the readouts and gave him a small reassuring smile. "He's going to sleep for a while, Captain. I'll do another blood test to be sure, but it looks like the anti-virals are beginning to work. He'll improve much more rapidly now. We'll keep him hydrated, on pain meds and I'll give him one more dose of the dialorazepan in a couple of hours. With the fever going down, there should be no further danger of more convulsions." He glanced at Jim. "He _is_ doing better. However, I want to warn you, even when he's completely out of the woods, his recovery will be slow. VC is nothing you can just bounce back from quickly, we'll need to monitor him carefully, a relapse is always a possibility with a virus like this one. I'll have to put him on medical leave." He sighed. "He's going to hate that, but rest, good food, continued anti-virals, and hydration, is what he'll continue to need for a good long while. Leonard knows this, Sir, it's SOP for recovery from VC. "

Jim nodded. "Don't worry about it, Geoffrey. If I have to sit on his cranky, stubborn ass, I will."

M'Benga motioned to one of the nurses. "Please keep Dr. McCoy on the rotating cold sheets until his temperature goes down to 37.78.

"Yes, sir."

He turned to Jim. "And speaking of SOP, we need to start checking on the crew's vaccine markers as quickly as possible and intervene before anyone else shows symptoms. Because of the erratic incubation period of VC, the symptoms could show up at any time. I'll have doses of the VC vaccine available should anyone need additional boosters." He looked bleakly at Jim. "I'm afraid it's possible that Leonard could have infected someone not fully protected just by casually interacting with the crew or just randomly touching them in the Med Bay, the mess, or anywhere really."

Jim nodded. "Spock and his Science people will start as soon as your staff clears them." He swallowed hard. " Geoffrey, you know how Bones will feel if he did infect anyone, even unknowingly. He'll blame himself."

"Yes, Captain, I know he will, but this is not his fault. There's no way he could have known that his vaccine was defective. We'll just have to make sure he believes that. It's such a random occurrence, so totally unpredictable."

Jim sighed. Bones was so stubborn. His irascible, grumpy exterior was only a front for that big marshmallow heart of his. His mind and soul were an open book, there was never any ulterior motives to Bones' behavior, he wore his heart on his sleeve, plus he was a healer to his core. 'Do no harm' had probably been imprinted in his DNA at conception. However, Jim could be just as stubborn. There was no way he was going to let Bones take any blame on himself for any of this shitstorm or to wallow in guilt. He and M'Benga would handle Bones between them and if he had to, he'd bring in the big gun, Christine Chapel! She'd tell him exactly how the cow ate the cabbage. Jim smiled grimly to himself for using one of Bones' southern colloquialisms; apparently the southern colloquialism bug was contagious too.

"Captain," Geoffrey's soft voice interrupted his thoughts. "If you want to leave to make your report to Admiral Northcutt, this is probably the best time for you to do it. I'll stay here with Leonard. I'm just going to release Nurse Chapel from isolation and have her report to Mr. Spock. If you're still tied up with the Admiral, I'll update you by comm on Leonard's condition."

"Yeah, that would be great, Geoffrey. I have a feeling it's going to take a while, so I better take care of it right now. Best get it over with. I'll be back as soon as I can." With one last lingering glance at Bones and a soft caress to his stubbled cheek, Jim walked out of the isolation room.

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jim leaned back unobtrusively in his chair and stretched his tight, tense body. He'd been on the comm for two hours, first with Admiral Northcutt, then with Admiral Boyce. Northcutt had insisted on a three way conference with the SFM Chief while Jim had carefully explained their present status and Dr. M.Benga's intervention plan. Both Admirals agreed nothing more could be done until the entire _Enterprise_ crew was tested. Meanwhile, Dr Boyce decided that his staff would track down the VC vaccine supplier to double check their vaccines. They'd also go over SFM records with a fine toothed comb to find the recruits who had been vaccinated from the same batch that McCoy and the _Enterprise_ crew had been. Star Fleet kept meticulous records, it was only a matter of time before the supplier was found.

"I haven't received any reports of new cases of VC from anywhere in the quadrant, Captain," Boyce  told him. "That's a good sign, but we're not out of the woods yet. It could be that no one has been exposed to the virus yet. We'll just have to track down everyone who was immunized during that period of time to check their markers. I'll get my people started from this end right away. I'll want another report from Mr. Spock and Dr. M'Benga by the end of the day."

"Aye, Sir."

"That's all for now, Jim," Northcutt said. His gray eyes were sympathetic. "I hope Dr. McCoy continues to improve."

"Thank you, Sir. Kirk out."

Jim left his ready room and made his way to the bridge. Russo had commed him that his command crew was back on duty. Geoffrey had also sent him Russo's final report and to his relief, all the command crew's vaccine markers were normal; there was absolutely no sign of a mutated virus. The rest of the crew was next. He reined in his raging impatience to get back to Bones. He needed to check in with his bridge crew to find out who had the con. His comm beeped. It was Geoffrey and his heart skipped a beat, a frisson of fear still lingering.

"Kirk here."

Geoffrey's now cheerful voice echoed in the lift, "Captain, I'm happy to say that there's been a steady improvement in Leonard's condition. His temperature is down to 37.9. I just gave him his last dose of dialorazepan. I'm sure he won't need another one. I've also transferred him to the Primary Med Bay. Christine and I will keep a close eye on him. I gave him another booster before I moved him so now he can't infect anyone else regardless of their VC marker level. Also, Sir, the entire Science department personnel tested clear and they've now started testing the crew. Mr. Spock has organized them so the crew will report here by departments. We're starting with the Mess staff since one way or the other they come in contact with everyone on board ship. The testing is going really fast with all the Science department helping my staff"

"That's great news, Geoffrey. I'm going to check in with the bridge crew then I'll go back to the Med Bay. Any idea how long it'll be before Bones wakes up?"

"He'll probably start waking up in a half hour or so. He'll be much happier if the first person he sees when he wakes is you instead of me, Captain. He's going to be a little disoriented with the drugs, seeing you will certainly help with that."

"Believe me, Geoffrey, I'll be there. Wild horses couldn't keep me away. Kirk out."

Jim stepped out of the lift into the bridge. "Keptin on the bridge," Chekov's glad voice rang out.

"As you were, everyone." He stepped over to his chair and Sulu stood up. Jim waved him back. "I'm not staying," he said. "I just wanted to check in to see how things are going."

"We're good, Sir. No problems at all. How is Dr. McCoy?" Sulu asked.

"Improving, Mr. Sulu, thank you. I'm going back to the Med Bay next. Can't tell you how happy I am that all of you were properly immunized. VG is a virus I hope I never see again. Mr. Spock, the Science department, and the Med Bay staff are testing the rest of the crew as we speak. Let's hope no more cases show up." He glanced around the bridge, every one was on task and working as usual. "Okay, you people obviously don't need me so I'm off. I'll be in Med Bay."

"Captain, after you see Leonard, and you have a few minutes I'd like to speak with you privately." Uhura smiled at him. "It's nothing urgent, just something I'd like to run by you."

"Of course, Uhura. I'll comm you when I'm free. See you later."

Jim walked into the Med Bay to see lines of crew members waiting their turn to have blood drawn. Spock looked up from his station to nod at him and Jim spotted Geoffrey in his office in front of his large comm terminal. He waved to his crew as he passed but didn't stop, driven by his need to be with Bones.

Christine Chapel sat in front of one of the office. She was quickly and efficiently, drawing blood and labeling vials. She paused and pointed to one of the small private rooms. "He's in there. I just checked on him, Captain. He's starting to wake up, see if you can help him along, Sir."

"I will. Thanks, Christine."

He opened the door and walked quietly across the room to Bones. The room was dimly lit and the bio bed glowed softly under the blinking readout lights. Jim stood and looked down at the sleeping Leonard. A light blanket covered him to his shoulders. He was now dressed in a regulation green Med Bay gown, his hair had been combed and someone had even shaved him. To Jim's loving eyes, Bones looked beautiful, a thousand times better than he'd looked earlier. As Jim watched, his eye lids flickered and his right hand twitched.

Jim leaned in over the bed to kiss him softly, running his tongue lightly over Bones' plush bottom lip. Bones' lips twitched in response.

"Bones, baby, wake up! It's time to wake up now," Jim told him. Bones' eyes slitted open, showing a sliver of green, then closed again. Jim drew in a shaky breath at the sight. “That’s it, Bonsey," he said in a low voice. “Wake up for me.” He pressed his lips gently against Bones' in another quick kiss. "It’s time to wake up, Bones. I need to know you’re okay. Please… please...wake up.”

Leonard shifted restlessly as he obviously struggled to open his eyes. He moaned, his eyes fluttering, his head shifting back and forth restlessly from side to side.

“Bones,” Jim said again, his voice warm and deep. "You can do it. Open those beautiful eyes for me. I haven't seen them since yesterday, sweetheart, and I need to see them again. Come on, try for me. Don't you want to see me, Bonesy?"

Bones contorted his face and with a lot of obvious effort, he got one eye open and peered up at Jim. "'im?" He whispered and his lips curled in a tiny smile.

"That's it, Bones! That's good! Now let's see if you can open the other eye." Jim nibbled gently at Bones bottom lip. "Come on, baby. You can open both eyes, I know you can."

Bones closed his one eye and then slowly, slowly, turned his head toward Jim's voice and opened both eyes. He blinked up in obvious confusion at Jim’s face. "Jim...wha...wha...happened?" he rasped out hoarsely. The effort to talk was obviously exhausting. He tiredly closed his eyes again.

“No, no. Stay awake, please, Bones." Jim said. "Open your eyes and look at me." He patted Bones' cheek gently. "Look at me, baby."

Bones slowly opened his eyes again. Jim was looking down at him. Bones lifted up a shaky, weak hand to touch Jim's cheek. He blinked rapidly and licked his dry lips before he managed a shaky, whispered “J-Jim? You all...right?"

Tenderly, Jim took his hand and pressed his cheek against it, brought it to his lips, swallowing hard against sudden tears. "That's my Bones...always looking out for me. I'm fine...you're the one who had us all worried."

Bones looked up at him, obviously bewildered, blinking furiously. "Can't..can't....remember...."

"It's okay." Jim smiled brilliantly down at Bones, feeling absolutely giddy that Bones was awake and talking to him. "You're gonna' be just fine." Jim bent and kissed him again, a soft, lingering, claiming kiss full of reassurance and comfort. Jim twisted one hand into McCoy’s green gown, his heart filled with profound relief that Bones was going to recover. He slid his other hand through the soft dark hair, combing through it slowly. Bones sighed contently at the caress and his eyes closed again.

"'M so...tired, Jimmy." Bones' whisper was shaky. "...thirsty...."

"I know you are. It's that damned virus, but you're getting better." Jim bit his lip. Right now the totally irrational urge to hide Bones away somewhere, to keep him safe, away from any physical danger, virus, plague, crazy Klingons or Romulans, felt like an excellent idea. The best idea he'd ever had actually. Then he smiled grimly to himself as he thought of how that would go over with Bones, the roll of his eyes, the fierce eyebrow frown with a disdainful snort at Jim's ridiculous notions. He could even hear Bones' voice in his head. ' _Get a grip, Jimbo. As if I'd ever leave you on this boat without me!'_

The door of the room opened and Christine Chapel entered hypo in hand. Bones turned his head "Chris...tin," he murmured, then frowned when he saw the hypo.

"I see you're back with us, Leonard. I can't tell you how glad I am to see your eyes open and your grumpy face frowning at me." She grinned at him and raised the hypo. "Don't have a tantrum, these are pain meds, vitamins and minerals. The high fever dehydrated you and we need to replenish your electrolytes, so don't fuss about what needs to be done."

"'M...thirsty," Bones said again.

"I know you are, but nothing by mouth just yet, Dr. McCoy. You know the drill."

Bones glanced up at her implacable face and nodded once in resignation. He glanced at Jim helplessly, but Jim just shrugged. They both knew that nothing would deter Christine from doing her duty in following Dr. M'Bengas' orders to the letter.

She pressed the hypo gently to Bones neck, smoothed the blanket over him, checked the bio bed readings and looked sternly down at him. "Your vitals are looking pretty good, but you need to rest, Leonard." When he opened his mouth to protest, she frowned at him. "And....Dr. McCoy, there will be no talking, no questions, no complaining. The Captain can stay here and keep you company if you'll go right to sleep, otherwise I will have to ask him to leave. When you wake up again, you can have water. At that time, I promise that Dr. M'Benga will answer all your questions. And just so you know, if you don't promise to close your eyes and go to sleep, I will sedate you. Deal? "

McCoy looked at her, frowning fiercely. She looked back at him serenely. He looked at Jim pleadingly. Jim looked up at the ceiling. Bones sighed in resignation. "Deal," he whispered and closed his eyes. He was immediately asleep.

Jim and Christine looked at him and exchanged a fond smile. "Stubborn, bastard." Jim shook his head. Really, he loved Bones' stubborn nature. It's what made Bones the superlative doctor that had saved Jim and his crew innumerable times and it was what would get him through this virus shit.

"Absolutely," Christine said. "And am I glad to see that stubbornness back," she said." I was so worried about him."

"I know. Me too." Jim shuddered.

Even in his sleep, McCoy still grasped Jim's hand tightly, so Christine brought Jim a chair to sit on. "Looks like you won't be going anywhere for a while," Christine smiled at him.

"Looks like," Jim grinned, keeping his voice low. "Didn't plan to anyway. Christine, could you please ask Janice to bring my shift paper work. Might as well sit here and do it now. Also, Nyota wanted to speak to me about something, so would you ask her if she'd come here to do so? I don't want to use my comm and risk waking up Bones," he said softly.

"I'll step outside to let them know, although I doubt that Leonard will be bothered by our voices."

She came back in a few minutes. "They'll both be here shortly. Anything else I can help you with before I go back to being a vampire?"

Jim laughed softly. "No thanks, Christine. I'll be fine here until Bones wakes up."

She nodded and left him, smiling slightly at the sight of Leonard's hand still tightly clutching Jim's.

Janice and Nyota walked into the room together and stood looking down at Bones. "He looks good, Captain," Uhura said. "I was so worried about him...we all were." she added softly.

Janice nodded. "The whole crew was." She handed Jim his official Captain's Dispatch bag. It was obviously full of pads requiring his attention, "Just do what you can do one handed, Captain," she laughed softly. "I'll handle as much of the rest as I can."

Jim chuckled. "Thanks, Janice."' He looked at Uhura. "What can I do for you, Lieutenant?"

"Actually, Captain, it's more like what can we do for you and Leonard. Janice and I have been talking since Leonard's collapse. We thought if you were agreeable, we'd like to take over your wedding plans. Leonard won't be able to do anything until he's fully recovered and you know he's going to fret and worry about that wedding. You, Spock and Scotty will have your hands full and even more so now," she waved her hand toward the main Med Bay. "We'd like to help and do as much as we can until Leonard is well. We'll do everything just the way you both want it. We'll run everything by you or Leonard first before finalizing anything. What do you think?" She looked expectantly at Jim.

Jim looked up at them, surprised and touched. Did he or did he not have the best and most wonderful crew in all of Star Fleet? Yes, yes, he did!

Realistically, Jim knew that Bones would not be able to handle the wedding plans until he was much stronger and he also remembered Geoffrey's warnings about a possible relapse. He knew that Bones would fret and worry himself sicker if they had to postpone the wedding because of a perceived failure on his part.

"I think it's a fantastic idea," he told them, his mega watt smile breaking all over his face. "Thank you from both of us! I know Bones told me he'd already made some notes about the wedding. I'll get those to you as soon as I can and if you need any help planet side, my mom is more than willing to help, and so is Bones' mom." He sighed. "Speaking of which, I haven't even had a chance to comm mom and Eleonora about Bones being so sick. Uhura, would you patch a comm link for me to Bones' mom for early this evening, Earth time, and then to my mom? I need to tell Bones' mom first though, but at least now I can also tell her that her son is doing much better."

"I'll get on it, Captain and comm you with the time."

"Thanks, Uhura."

The door opened and Spock came in. "Captain," he said softly, looking down at McCoy's peaceful, sleeping face. "He looks better," he murmured.

"He is much better, Spock. How's it going out there?"

"We have checked one third of the crew roster, Captain. Thus far we have found three additional crew members whose vaccine markers are low to non existent. Dr. M'Benga has re-immunized them. I anticipate there will be more."

Shit!" Jim said, grimacing. "That's not good."

"Indeed, sir. Not good at all."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**"It is useless to say it, I know, but it rises out of my soul.**  
**For you, and for any dear to you, I would do anything."**

 **Charles Dickens**  
**"A Tale of Two Cities"**

 

Jim looked closely at Bones face; he was still deeply asleep. Shit! What the hell had happened with the vaccines? What was supposed to be part of a routine SFM immunization protocol had morphed into something deadly for Bones and, potentially, for more of his crew and who knew how many others?

Jim stood and gently disengaged his hand from Bones' tight grip. "We just have to finish those blood tests as quickly as possible, Spock," he said softly, mindful of Bones sleeping deeply. "Meanwhile, I have to report this to Admiral Boyce." Several hours had passed and it was time to update the Admirals. During those hours, Bones had never once stirred and Jim hadn't either.

Chapel came in to take Bones’ vitals. His temperature was down again, almost normal; he was still sleeping deeply and peacefully. "Just what he needs," Christine murmured, satisfied. "I think he'll sleep through most of the night without waking, Captain."

So this would be a good time for Jim to take care of a few thing; update the Admirals, comm Bones' mom, his mom, shower, eat, then come back to the Med Bay to spend the night.

He handed Janice his Dispatch Bag with his padds, then stood to stretch his cramped muscles and tired back. He gave Bones one last lingering glance, brushed his hand through the soft, dark hair, rearranged the light blanket carefully over him, and quietly ushered every one out of the room.

The Main Med Bay was crowded with crew; several departments were lined up in front of the Med Techs, the Science staff, and the nurses. The lines were long, snaked out the large double doors to the corridor. Geoffrey glanced up from speaking to Chapel and came over to Jim. "So far we've found 6 crewmen who had to be re-immunized, Captain. I believe the count is going to go up." He shook his head in disbelief. "The good thing is that as far as I can tell, after we interviewed the 6, none of them were ever in contact with Leonard so he's the only active case so far. I'm beginning to think he may have been exposed to VG on one of your away missions. It could have been as far back as 4 or 5 weeks ago. "

"I will forward the logs of our away missions for the last several weeks to you, Doctor M'Benga. Dr. McCoy went planet side with the Captain and landing crews three times; we also had that 24 hour shore leave on Antarras 4."

Geoffrey grimaced in dismay. It would be next to impossible to find patient zero, the one who had infected Leonard, but at the very least he or SFM could inform the planetary governments to notify all the hospitals and medical providers to watch for symptoms. He sighed and his eyes met Jim's, who nodded in understanding. It was like looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack.

"Let me get you Bones' padd," Jim told Uhura and Janice as they walked by the CMO's office. "I know which one he uses for his notes and lists and it isn't locked. That way you'll have his wedding notes and an idea of what he had in mind for the ceremony and the brunch." He looked sternly at the two girls. "Remember, simple, low key and traditional is what we want. Same for the reception, traditional brunch food, some good booze, good music, and some informal pictures of every one having a good time." He felt a little guilty thinking of the wedding at a time like this, but on the other hand they were all doing everything possible to contain and control the VC crisis.

Uhura smirked at him and Janice flashed him a fond smile..

"What! What's so funny?" Jim frowned at the two.

"I'm just surprised that you'd agree to a traditional wedding, Jim. You're not exactly known for being a traditional kind of guy," Uhura said. Janice nodded in agreement, her blue eyes filled with mirth.

"That is true," Spock intoned, face impassive.

Jim looked balefully at the three. "Yeah, well Bones is. He was born and raised in Georgia, the land of the old fashioned; they're nothing if not traditional to the core. I want the wedding to be all he wants it to be, I want him to be totally happy with all the plans. He deserves it for putting up with all my shit for so long," Jim was perfectly serious as he said these words, and the two women exchanged a glance of perfect understanding. _They're just so crazy about each other_.

"Aw, that's so sweet, Captain." Janice gave him a motherly pat on the arm. "Don't you worry, it'll be just exactly the way you want it, we promise."

Jim turned over the padd he found on Bones' desk to Uhura then took the lift directly to his Ready Room where he closed and locked the door. Only Spock's code could override the lock code. He sat and put in the comm codes for Admiral Northcutt and Admiral Boyce then added the code "For Your Eyes Only." The communication between them would now be encrypted. As he waited, he put his thoughts in order....giving Admirals bad news ranked very, very low on Jim's list on how to spend a fun evening. No one was going to be happy about his report.

"Captain," Admiral Boyce's and Admiral Northcutt's voices came in simultaneously.

"Sirs," Jim said just as his personal comm beeped. "'Excuse me, Sirs, this is from Dr. M'Benga. He may have updated numbers on the crew's VG testing."

"Kirk here."

"Captain, we have an updated tally for you. There are only 163 of the crew left to test. Since the initial 6, we've found 7 more unprotected crewmen whose vaccine markers are low to non existent. I have re-immunized them all. They're all symptom free. No one shows any signs of the VC virus and none of them have been in contact with Leonard. We've been very lucky so far. I anticipate that we will find a few more unprotected crewmen before we finish."

"Keep me informed, Doctor. Kirk out."

Jim turned back to the Admirals. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Sirs.....you heard? That's 13 crew members so far whose vaccines were useless." He looked at the two grave faces in front of him and took a deep breath. "Let me bring you up to date on our status. Admiral Northcutt has my reports on the away missions when Dr. McCoy accompanied us. Those planetary governments need to be made aware that there may be active cases of VC on their planet. Someone infected Dr. McCoy during one of those away missions. However, Dr. M'Benga thinks it may be impossible to find patient zero."

"I concur with him." Boyce said. "But we have to try. I'll take care of it."

Jim went on to finish his report, then leaned back to hear the Admirals' reactions.

"This is unconscionable, Captain. SFM depends on these vaccines to keep our people safe and healthy no matter where they're posted or stationed." Boyce looked tired and very angry. "My staff has tracked down the vaccine supplier who sold us this particular batch of VC vaccines. The company is called Antares Pharmaceuticals, its headquarters is on Alpha Centauri B. I've already sent out two teams of SFM inspectors. Basically the teams will be conducting a surprise raid of the entire facility. One group will check random samples of the vaccine as it's being manufactured as well as their warehoused shipments, the other group will audit the company books and all their financials. Warrants have been issued; they have not been told that we're coming. I hope we'll have some answers soon, Captain Kirk. If this pharmaceutical company has compromised the safety of our people for credits, they will be brought to justice; I can promise you that," the Admiral looked grim.

"I hope so, Admiral."

"How is Dr. McCoy, Jim?" Northcutt asked.

"He's much better, thanks, Admiral," Jim answered, trying to curb his raging impatience to get back to Bones. He raked his hand tiredly through his hair. He needed a shower, food, some clean comfortable sweats and then he'd settle in by Bones' bed for the night. No way was he was spending the night by himself in their quarters...he wouldn't be able to sleep anyway without Bones there.

Northcutt nodded. "He's a strong, young, and a fighter. He'll be fine. We'll keep you updated on the situation on Alpha Centauri B."

"As soon as Dr. M'Benga and Mr. Spock have the final tally, I'll comm you again, Sirs."

"Northcutt out."

"Boyce out."

The comm screen darkened and Jim sighed in relief. He unlocked the Ready Room door and took the lift to his quarters. _Admiral Boyce is furious,_ he thought. _Heads are going to roll over this one_. Jim knew that Boyce, like Bones, was primarily a doctor, a healer, being an Admiral came in a very distant second. He remembered Bones telling him what a brilliant doctor and teacher Boyce was and how he'd been impressed. Bones, Jim knew, didn't impress easily.

But now, Jim had to speak with Bones' mom and then with his own. In his quarters, he opened his comm, notified Uhura that he was ready for the comm call and waited impatiently for the notification. Suddenly, Eleanora's beaming face smiled at him.

"Jim dear, what a nice surprise! How is my son in law to be? Your mom and I have been talking off and on since Leonard notified us of the wedding date. We've decided to shop for the MOTG dresses in San Francisco...lots more to choose from there." She suddenly stopped talking as she noticed Jim's face. "Jim, what is it? Is something wrong?"

"There was, but everything's fine now," Jim told her. He described what had happened to Bones and assured her that he was recovering quickly; the wedding was still on schedule and with the help of Uhura and Janice everything was being taken care of. That, more than anything else, seemed to convince Eleonora that Bones was going to be fine. After promising to update her in the morning and agreeing that since Bones was doing well, there was no reason to scare Joanna, Jim closed the comm to wait for Uhura to connect him to his mother in Riverside. Winona was on Earth now, assigned to the Iowa Star Fleet Shipyard Engineering Department, working on a brand new Constitution class ship which was as yet unnamed.

"Hi, mom."

Winona took one look at Jim's face and immediately asked, "Jim! What's the matter?"

Jim repeated what he'd just told Eleonora. Winona, her blond hair pulled back in a casual ponytail and still in her bathrobe, was calmly reassuring. "Leonard is going to be just fine, and Jim, don't you worry, those two women will take care of everything. Tell them I'm available to help and I'm sure Eleanora will be also." She smiled her sunshine smile, an exact replica of Jim's own. "I'll do whatever I can to help them. After all, my son is marrying a doctor, a famous and renowned Federation doctor...we're so going up in the world!" She laughed. "Your grandmother would be thrilled beyond words!"

"Mom!" Jim protested. "It might interest you to know that in some circles I'm considered quite a catch."

"Yes, yes, of course you are, sweetheart, I know that," she said soothingly. "But a doctor!" Her blue eyes twinkled. "What a feather in the Kirk family cap," Jim laughed at that and immediately felt better. They talked a little longer,  Jim promising to update her tomorrow. "Bye, mom. Love you."

"Goodbye, dear. Love you too, talk to you tomorrow. Try to get some rest."

Feeling warm and comforted after his talk with his mother, Jim stepped into the sonic, changed into his softest, warmest, most comfortable sleep pants and shirt, then requested a chicken sandwich, an apple and some hot tea from the replicator. He got out his duffle, placed a couple of his treasured paper books in it, another apple, and Bones' pillow which still smelled like the shampoo Bones favored. It gave Jim an inexplicable sense of comfort as he hugged it before putting it in the duffle.

Before Bones, Jim hadn't really known a lot about intimacy. That part of him had never been engaged during his pre Bones sexual liaisons. But even before they'd gotten together, Jim had slowly learned that he liked sharing special as well as the everyday moments with Bones: just talking, studying, eating, laughing and being together.

After they'd become lovers, Jim would sometimes wake before Bones and just lie there listening to him breathe, unable to believe that his dearest, deepest desire had come true. One morning, Bones had just awakened, and Jim, overcome with sudden emotion, had pressed close to him. In a hushed voice, like he was confessing a terrible secret, he'd whispered, “It's nice, waking up with you.” He had blushed as he said it. Bones had ignored the blush, pulled him in even closer, kissed him gently and said, "I know, darlin'...its always the nicest part of my day."

It was certainly the nicest part of Jim's day. He was going to make absolutely sure Bones' face was the first thing he saw in the morning. He waved at the lines of crew still waiting to be tested and opened the door to Bones' room. Geoffrey was in there checking Leonard's vitals. He looked up as the door opened and Jim saw the pleased look on his face. "His fever is gone. His vaccine marker is normal, and his hydration level is almost so. I've lowered his pain meds, so he'll be a lot more alert when he wakes up." He noticed the duffel. "Planning to spend the night, Captain?" He asked softly.

Jim nodded.

"Let me get you a cot then. This chair is really not built for sleeping. You can lift the cot to the level of Leonard's bed and sleep right next to him."

"Thanks, Geoffrey." Jim looked closely at him. His eyes were blood shot, and there were lines of fatigue on his face. "You need to get some rest. You've been up since Bones got sick, going non stop since then. Go take a nap, have one of the nurses comm you if you're needed. That's an order, Doctor."

Geoffrey yawned tiredly, then grinned sheepishly. "Aye, aye, Sir. Guess I will. I'll let the staff know that I'll be in my office if they need me. Now let me get that cot for you." He went to the storage closet and brought out a brand new state of the art cot. "Dr. McCoy ordered two, I wonder why?"

Jim laughed, grabbed it from him, then gently shooed him out the door. "Go. Sleep." He opened the cot and lifted the head so he could read under the lights of the bio bed. He covered himself with the blanket and turned his body so that he faced Bones, he wanted to be aware the moment he woke up. He pulled his book out of the duffle...it was one of his all time favorites, Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 415." As always, Jim's first thought when he gently opened that first fragile page was, what would his life been like without books, without the beauty of the printed and digital word? While his mom was gone, after Sam left, it was books that made him believe that he wasn't completely alone in the world, the fictional characters providing solace and company.

He read steadily and slowly for a couple of hours, savoring every word of Bradbury's masterful prose, when he heard Bones begin to stir. He carefully put the book down and reached over to stroke Bones' cheek. In the dim light of the bio bed, Jim saw him open his eyes. They glowed gold, green and amber under the bio bed lights.

"Hi," Jim said softly

Leonard turned his head. "Jim! Have you been here all night?” He asked, his voice low and rough.

"Where else would I be?"

“You should've slept in our bed and gotten your rest, Jim," Bones said, frowning at him.

Jim just rolled his eyes. "Nope, can't sleep without you anyway plus I wasn't leaving you here by yourself. You... never leave me,” he added softly.

The door opened and Nurse Chapel came in. She greeted them softly. "How are you feeling, Doctor?

"Better," Leonard said. "A hell of a lot better than last time I woke up."

"Good! You can have some water now," she told him, looking him over critically. Whatever she saw, satisfied her and she nodded to herself.

"Oh, thank God! My throat feels like sandpaper," Leonard groaned.

She raised the head of Leonard's bed and put a cup and straw in his mouth. "Slowly now, Doctor, don't gulp it."

Her comment made Leonard's brow shoot up. "Who's the boss around here?" he mumbled around the straw.

"I am," Christine said firmly. "You're the patient who can't give any orders right now."

Jim snorted; Mc Coy glared at both of them.

"Dr. M'Benga is asleep. He's left me in charge. I'm swamped out there so you're going to have to wait until later for answers to all your questions...and don't pester the Captain, either. Be patient and Geoffrey will fill you in all the medical details." She gave him a stern glare. "Are you okay with that?"

Bones nodded, knowing better than to argue. He knew he'd get a hypo if he argued and got agitated. Christine took no prisoners when she was on duty.

"Okay, you're doing great, Leonard. Your not due for meds right now so I'm off, I have to finish the charts. I'll be back later. Behave you two."

He and Jim watched Christine's slim straight figure walk out the door.

Jim smiled. "She's something else," he said. As soon as the door closed, Jim jumped off the cot and dove right into Bones’ mouth. His strong arms held him gently as Bones' arms automatically went around Jim and held on tight.

"My Bones,” Jim said softly. They both sighed into the kiss. Jim leaned back a little. "Is this alright?"

Leonard just pulled Jim in closer against him. Jim’s hand trailed down his shoulder and back tentatively, not quite sure if Bones was strong enough, not sure.....

"This is exactly what the doctor needed," Bones said into his ear, sighing in contentment.

They remained pressed together reveling in being close again; there was no need for words or conversation between them. Their hands roamed lightly over each other, everywhere, as if were their first time together. Jim felt lips grazing his cheek, his forehead, hands carding through his hair. Bones raised his neck as Jim kissed his jaw and throat, little loving nips and gentle bites, until he heard Bones' breathing coming faster, a little erratic. Jim drew back alarmed. "Shhh, shhh, it's okay... just lie back and relax. I'm sorry, I should know better, you have to rest, Bonesy, Geoffrey said so."

Bones chuckled softly. "Cain't help it.... you feel so damned good."

Jim pressed his head against Bones' throat and breathed in the Bones' scent he loved so much. "I was so scared," he confessed. "I've never been so scared in my life. I don't know what I’d do without you,” Jim mumbled, nuzzling into Bones’ shoulder. He felt like he wanted to crawl under Bones’s skin. "If this is what you go through when it's me, it's a wonder you're sane. I'm sorry," he muttered into Bones' ear, "I'm sorry to have put you through that so many times. You're way stronger than I am."

Bones snorted, then kissed Jim's temple in comfort, his long elegant fingers carding gently through Jim's short neck hair. "It's what I signed up for darlin'; and you don't ever have to be sorry 'bout me, Jim. I knew exactly what I was getting into when I agreed to come out in the black with you. I'm in it for the long haul, no matter how tough it gets. You ain't never, ever gettin' rid of me."

"That's good, because I'm gonna be like a barnacle on you for the rest of our lives!"

They grinned at each other then Jim moved reluctantly off Bones despite his grunt of protest. "You gotta rest. Christine said so and her word is law, remember?" Jim smirked as Bones glowered at that. "Anyway, I'm going to be right here next to you on the cot until Geoffrey says you can be released to our quarters." He leaned in and gave Leonard a soft kiss. "Now lie back and close your eyes, I'm going to take good care of you."

Bones lay back obediently and closed his eyes, which more than anything told Jim he was already tired. Jim reclined on the cot and went back to his book. In a few minutes he looked over and saw that Bones was fast asleep.

Jim dozed, off and on, but stayed alert in case Leonard woke and needed anything. It was very late when the room door opened again; he saw Spock silhouetted against the light off the main Med Bay. He glanced over to the sleeping Bones, got off the cot and walked quietly to the door.

"Let's talk outside," he whispered to Spock, who nodded.

Outside the doors to Bones' room, Jim saw that the main Med Bay was quiet and empty.

"You've finished?" He asked in surprise.

"Yes, Captain. We have finished. A few minutes ago, I sent the whole of the Science Department off duty for the next 12 hours. They need to eat and take a rest period. Normal duty rosters for them will resume at Beta shift tomorrow."'

"That's fine, Spock. There's nothing urgent pending aside from their normal duty responsibilities is there?"

"No, Sir, there is not."

"Good. Please be sure a commendation is put in each of their personnel files for the great job they did today; they went way above and beyond their duty on this one."

"I will, Sir. Before I give you my report, Captain, may I ask, how is the good doctor?"

"He's much better. Still in recovery mode and he tires very easily. Dr. M'Benga warned me that he going to need a lot of rest and he'll be on medical leave for a couple of weeks. He won't be happy about that."

"Of that we can be certain. However, I am gratified that he is on the road to recovery. Now to my report. We have completed testing every person on the ship for both the strength of their Vegan Choriomeningitis vaccine and for a possible marker for a mutated VC virus. I must report that we found more unprotected crew. The final tally of those who were vaccinated with a defective vaccine is 17, 18, counting Dr. McCoy; Nurse Chapel has revaccinated all of them. Thus far, no one else has exhibited any symptoms of VC. Dr. McCoy is the only active case."

"Damn, Spock, wait until Admiral Boyce hears about this. If we have 18 here, there's no telling how many more unprotected SF personnel are out there. Heads are gonna roll. I could almost pity the Antares Pharmaceutical big wigs by the time the Admiral and his staff gets through with them."

"Indeed, Captain. Their punishment will be richly deserved."


	5. Chapter 5

**And Marriage is an Honorable Estate...**

**Chapter 5**

**"There are three things which if one does not know,**

**one cannot live long in the world: what is too much for one,**

**what is too little for one, and what is just right for one."**

**  
Swahili Proverb**

 

Jim opened the door to their quarters and steered Bones to the bedroom. Geoffrey had agreed to let Bones leave Med Bay to recover in their quarters with the proviso that he would go to bed and stay there. "You can only get up to go to the bathroom, Leonard. Christine will visit you mid morning to check your vitals, I'll check you mid afternoon, and no complaints. You know it's the required protocol for a full recovery from VG. It's a pretty lethal virus, a relapse is all too possible if we aren't careful."

Jim had paled when he heard this.

Leonard had hastened to reassure him. "Geoff, I know the drill." He glanced at Jim. "Don't worry, darlin' I don't want no repeat of this shit."

Earlier that morning, Geoffrey had updated McCoy on everything that had happened since his collapse, assured him that the whole crew had been tested, and that some, including Leonard himself, had been revaccinated. Everyone on board ship was safe from the VC virus now. Jim had also filled him in on the situation with Antares Pharmaceuticals and the investigation. Realistically, it was too early to get a report from the Admirals, but Jim hoped it wouldn't be too much longer. He also told Bones they thought he'd been exposed to the virus on one of their away missions and that Admiral Boyce had notified the planetary governments of that fact. Bones had struggled to internalize everything that had happened after his collapse, but in truth, he was still to tired and weak to worry about things that were so out of his control.

Also, while they breakfasted in the Med Bay, before Geoffrey had laid the law down to Bones, Jim had told him about Uhura and Janice helping with their wedding plans. Bones had been surprisingly amenable. "I know I won't be up to much for a while, Jim. It's mighty nice of them to offer to do this for us."

"They'll come and ask you about things, Bones. The wedding will be just like we want, they'll just do all the leg work. Mom and your mama said they'd help too. You just have to say yea or nay."

Bones nodded. "I'm just glad we didn't have to postpone the wedding. I sure would've hated that!"

"Me too." Jim's answer was heartfelt.

Jim kept his arm around Bones' shoulder as he led him to their freshly made bed. "Here we are, Bonsey." Jim let out a sigh of relief as Bones sat heavily on the side of the bed. "Let's get you into your pajamas." He pulled out Bones' long sleeve warm flannel pjs since Geoffrey had told him to keep the room very cool. He let Bones undress himself knowing that he'd grumble and grouse if Jim tried to help him. He brought out a little table, put it on Bones' side of the bed then placed his medical padds, his favorite books, some holovids, his communicator, a carafe of cool water and a glass.

"There, I think you have everything you need till I get back. You just comm me, Bones, if you need me. I won't be far."

"Thanks, Jim," Leonard said, breathing heavily. Even the short walk from the lift to their quarters had tired him. He sat on the edge of the bed to change his clothes while Jim kept an unobtrusive eye on him as he put a fluffy pillow against the headboard. "Just leave your clothes on the floor, I'll hang them up for you." He picked the uniform shirt and pants and watched as Leonard leaned back against the pillow and sighed contently. Leonard glanced up at the pain filled, worried blue eyes that were riveted on him. He stretched out his hand. "Com'ere, Jimmy."

Jim sat carefully on the bed as Bones put his arms around him. He was shaking. "Shh, shh," Bones whispered, patting Jim's back. "It's alright, darlin'."

"Shit, Bones. I don't ever want to feel like that again...all alone and scared to death that you were dying! It was horrible." He shuddered.

"I'm not leaving you, not going anywhere," Bones murmured in his ear. He pressed his lips to Jim's neck where he could feel his rapid pulse beneath the silky skin against his lips.

"You'd better not," Jim said with a muffled sniff into the flannel pajamas. Bones pressed his arms tighter around him. "You're everything to me. I love you so much, Bones,” Jim said, and meant it with every fiber of his being.

“I love you back,” Bones said softly.

Jim kissed Bones gently and they stayed like that for a while, finding and giving comfort. Jim lightly stroked Bones’ chest with the flat of his hand as Leonard carded his fingers through Jim's hair.

Jim felt himself relax and melt further against Bones. He loved it when those warm elegant fingers played with his hair. "Hhhnngnggh,” Jim murmured contently, eloquence deserting him. Bones chuckled.

Jim let his head fall on Leonard's shoulder, but after a few minutes he reluctantly eased away with one last gentle kiss. He stood up. "I hate to leave you, Bones," he said worriedly, "but I have a meeting with Scotty and Spock to set up our inspection schedule of the ship and prioritize the repairs. It won't be a long meeting. Scotty already has a preliminary list." He sighed. "I'm the Captain, I gotta be there."

"Don't you worry 'bout me, Jim. I'll be fine here, might even comm mama and Joanna to assure them I'm okay. After that I'll probably read a while then take a nap. You go on and do what you need to do."

"That's a great idea. I know your mama and Joanna would love to hear from you. I'll comm mom later. She wants to know how you're doing today."

"I'll comm her too."

"Thanks, Bones. Hearing from you would really make her day. She was worried."

"Sounds like you've all got a real busy day ahead of you."

"Yeah we do, but I'm coming back to have lunch with you. I'll order it from the mess, pick it up and bring it to you. You'll be hungry by then won't you?" Jim asked anxiously, mindful of Geoffrey's injunction about the importance of good nutrition while Bones was recovering.

"'Course I will," Leonard said. "when have you ever seen me pass up a good meal. You go on, now, darlin'. You don't want to keep Scotty and the hobgoblin waitin'; the sooner you go, the sooner you can come back."

Jim nodded and finally made his booted feet move out of the bedroom. Christine was scheduled to stop by mid morning and either Uhura or Janice would come after Christine to talk wedding plans. Jim would eat lunch with Bones at noon and Geoffrey was scheduled to check in mid-afternoon. Then there would be another visit from Janice or Uhura late afternoon and as soon as Alpha shift was over, Jim would be back in their quarters. Bones wouldn't be alone for any length of time all day plus his comm was right by his bed.

Jim was aware that his thinking about Bones' welfare and recovery was bordering on paranoia and ridiculousness, but after the scare he'd had, he didn't much care. He thought of all the times that Bones had literally held Jim’s life in his hands, how those brilliant surgeon hands had saved him again and again, healed him, repaired him, taken care of him. But those times were as nothing now that Bones held Jim’s heart in those hands. He knew that if he lost Bones his heart would be shattered, broken, it would never, ever, be healed or repaired. He pushed the terror of that thought away. He had Bones here safe in their bed and getting well. That was the only reality that mattered.

He took the lift to deck 15 and met Spock and Scotty by the access door to the warp core. "Gentlemen," Jim greeted them.

"Captain." Spock said. "I trust Dr. McCoy has settled in and is resting in your quarters?"

"Yes, I left him in bed. He tires very easily, but Geoffrey said that's to be expected. I just hope he'll follow Geoffrey orders."

"Aye, Captain, 'til be hard to keep him down and make him rest, that's one stubborn man!"

"Indeed," Spock said raising one eyebrow. "It will quite be a difficult task."

"Yeah, but I'm going to do my best to make sure he does what he needs to do to get well." Jim smiled tiredly at them. "Remember, we have a wedding coming up. Alright gentlemen, shall we get started? Scotty, let's have a look at your priority list."

For the next three hours the three men roamed and crawled all over the huge ship, stopping only to discuss and take notes on the necessity of repairing, reconditioning, or repainting the various sections of the decks they looked at. They lingered around the essential nerve centers of the ship, the areas the three of them agreed must always be at peak efficiency, the bridge, the warp core, the impulse engines, the Med Bay, the mess, and the weapons array. Those areas must always be at the top of the list. The yard dogs at Utopia Planitia Shipyard, no matter how fast or efficient they were, could only do so much in the time they were allotted, so some areas would only get minimal attention.

Jim's comm beeped. He looked down...Chapel. His heart jumped even though he was expecting a comm from her. "Kirk here."

"Captain, I've just left Dr. McCoy. For the most part he's doing well, however I did find him to still be slightly dehydrated. He needs to drink more, which he promised he would do. He's in good spirits because he spoke with his mother and Joanna and even with your mother. I think those calls did him a lot of good."

Jim sighed in relief. "That's good to hear, Christine. I'm going to have lunch with Bones at noon."

"Make sure he eats well, Captain, that's very important, and see if you can convince him to take a nap. He didn't take one this morning before I got there. Dr. M'Benga only released him from the Med Bay if he promised to rest. I don't really want to have to sedate him, but if I have to, I will."

"I'll take care of it, Christine." Jim rolled his eyes. Bones would absolutely hate that, but it was, he thought with a grim smile, a good threat to use on him. He looked up and both Spock and Scotty nodded in complete understanding.

"You gae’ on now, Captain," Scotty said. "The good doctor will be waitin' for yea, and 'tis lunch time anynow."

"Okay guys, we'll resume at 1300 hours. I'm going to the mess to pick up our food. Dr. M'Benga left orders for Bones' menu with Muriel so I hope his choices are decent or I'm going to have one pissed off doctor on my hands."

Scotty laughed and even Spock's lips twitched in amusement.

Jim got his chicken sandwich, tomato soup, and tea, and Muriel, the head chef, came out from the kitchen to give him Bones' covered lunch box. "Make sure he eats all of it, Captain. Doctor M'Benga's orders. That boy needs his nourishment." Muriel, like Bones, was from the deep South, Mississippi, and she had a proprietary fondness for the CMO. They often had talks about authentic southern cooking and Bones was one of the few people allowed back in her kitchen.

"I'll so my best, Muriel. Thanks a lot."

Jim entered the bedroom to find Bones still sitting up just like he'd left him that morning, padd in hand, hair sticking up in a mess, the sheets rumpled, and dark circles shadowing the soft hazel eyes that were more than a little bloodshot.

Jim looked in dismay at his doctor. "Bones McCoy, did you get any rest at all?"

Bones looked up, a guilty look on his face and his lips opened to say something.

Jim glared, blue eyes fierce. "No, don't even bother, I can see you didn't!" Jim set the tray down on the floor and came to sit by Bones. "Bones, please. You've got to do what Geoffrey says, or you're not going to get well." Jim drew in a deep breath and put on the saddest puppy dog eyes that he could muster. It was time to play the guilt card. "Don't you want to be totally well for our wedding, Bonsey?"

Bones hazel eyes opened wide in dismay. "Of course I do, Jim! Our wedding plans are movin' along real well. Janice and I made some great decisions this morning. We settled on the brunch menu and the music."

Jim looked at the beloved face in front of him and took a few seconds to admire Bones' plush lips, the beautiful hazel eyes, the little crease of consternation between his brows and the hint of dimples on his cheeks. By dint of tremendous self control, Jim kept a stern visage. "It doesn't seem like it, Bones. What good are all those plans if you're not well enough by our wedding day and if Geoffrey doesn't like what he sees this afternoon, he'll send you back to the Med Bay."

"The hell he will," Bones growled.

"He will, Bones. Don't doubt it for a minute. Rest and good nutrition were the only conditions he stipulated to release you this morning."

Bones sighed and trailed his fingers down Jim's strongly muscled arm to his wrist and hand. He twined his fingers around Jim's beautiful strong hand. Those hands could carry a phaser with ease or knock someone out in a fight, yet those same hands were always loving and tender whenever they touched Bones. "Damn it Jim. I'm sorry, I'll do better this afternoon. I'll take a long nap for sure."

"Promise?"

Bones nodded, "I promise."

"Alright then, I'm holding you to that promise, Dr. McCoy," he gave Bones a beaming smile. "Lets eat." Jim picked up Bones' food and made room on the little table for the lunch box. He helped Bones move to sit facing the table, then sat himself on the floor and opened his wrapped sandwich and soup cup. Leonard opened his lunch box and sighed with pleasure. In it were fried chicken, mashed potatoes, collard greens, sweet tea, and for dessert, peach cobbler. "That Muriel is a saint! This looks delicious. The woman must love me."

Jim looked at the delectable food with envy. "She must. Sure beats my chicken sandwich, apple and tomato soup."

Bones looked up from his mashed potatoes. "I'll share, Jimmy, I have plenty."

"You will not. You eat every bit of that good stuff and I won't tell Geoffrey you didn't nap this morning,"' Jim smirked.

"Jim Kirk, that's blackmail, pure and simple blackmail!"

"Yep, sure is," Jim said, sipping contently from his soup cup.

They sat eating and talking, enjoying their hour together.

"So did you have a good talk with our moms and Joanna?"

"Sure did. Your mom offered to get all the flowers for the chapel. I told her I'd check with you. What would you like darlin'? I thought roses would be way too formal. Whatever you want your mama said."

Jim thought for a minute. "I don't know very much about flowers," he admitted, "but I've always liked Sweet Peas and Lilacs, their scent and their colors, and they're not formal flowers. Let's have those and I'll leave it to mom to decide the rest, she's always been good with flowers." He looked up at Bones, blue eyes a little anxious. "You like those flowers, Bones?"

"I do," Leonard said. "They'll look beautiful in the small chapel. Sweet Peas and Lilacs it is. I'll comm Winona tomorrow and tell her, and I'll tell Uhura when she comes by later."

"After your nap," Jim said firmly. He grabbed the lunch box and tray and put them in the recycler. "Bathroom for you while I'm here and I'm changing your sheets. Looks like you had a fight with them."

"I was restless, just couldn't get comfortable, also missed you," Bones admitted sheepishly as he walked slowly to the bathroom. Jim stripped the bed, remade it and listened to the toilet flushing, the water from the basin running, and the electronic tooth brush vibrating. Bones came out, face washed, hair combed, looking refreshed.

"Much better," Jim leaned in to give him a tender kiss. "Missed you too. Now in bed with you. I'll even tuck you in." He gave him a small shove and Bones plopped down on the bed. Jim grinned at him unrepentant, as he tucked the blanket tightly around Leonard, kissed his forehead, and set everything back on the small table. "I'll see you after Alpha shift. Now go to sleep."

"I will, darlin'," Bones said around a yawn. "Thanks for bringin' lunch."

"Lights 10 percent," Jim said softly as he walked out the door. He flipped open his comm to warn Uhura not to come until much later, and did the same to Geoffrey.

His afternoon was spent very much like the morning, visiting decks and departments, inspecting areas of need. The three men had to crawl through Jeffries tubes, catwalks and storage areas to access some areas. By 1700 hours, Jim called a halt. "We'll continue tomorrow, gentlemen. My knees and elbows can't take anymore today. Scotty, see if you can dig up some elbow and knee pads for tomorrow."

"Aye, Sir. I'll see what I can find." He showed Jim his shirt which had a big hole in the elbow area. His black pants also had a hole in one of the knees and both shirt and pants were filthy. Jim's and Spock's uniforms were not much better, but at least they weren't torn. "Guess this uniform is a goner," Scotty told Jim.

Jim nodded. "Have Stores issue you a replacement, Scotty. Good night, you two. I'll see you tomorrow."

On his way to the lift, Jim commed the mess to ask that dinner be delivered to his quarters at 1800 hours. He badly needed a shower. The thought of hot water hitting his battered and bruised body was infinitely appealing.

He walked into the Captain's quarters to find Uhura on her way out. "Lieutenant?"

"Captain." She nodded toward the bedroom. "He's doing well. I came right after Dr.M'Benga had finished with him. The doctor looked pleased when he left. Apparently, Leonard had a long nap. Oh and I brought him a banana milk shake, he drank it all."

"Thanks, Uhura. Did you get some wedding plans taken care of?"

She nodded. "We chose the caterers, finalized the menu, and we commed your mom and she ordered the flowers. I also contacted the Academy Chaplin...he's very honored to officiate. Leonard sent him the wedding vows you liked from that old English prayer book. He's going to try to get an actual old copy of the book. The vows are quite beautiful, Captain."

"Yeah, they read like poetry. Bones and I changed a couple of things, but not much, we didn't want to ruin the cadence and sound of the ancient words."

"It's going to be a beautiful wedding," Uhura smiled. "I'll be going now, goodnight, Jim."

"Goodnight Uhura, and thanks again for doing this."

"It's an honor for Janice and I to help out," she said simply and left.

Jim swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. He had the best, the absolute best crew in Star Fleet!

He went in to Bones whose hazel eyes lightened with pleasure when he saw him.

"Hi. Sounds like you had a good day," Jim smiled and gave him a soft kiss. "Let me take a quick shower, I'm filthy."

The door chime rang just as Jim finished his shower, clean, refreshed and dressed in his softest sweats. "Come in," he called.

A yoeman wheeled in the cart with dinner. "Here you are, Captain. Enjoy, Sir"

"Thanks, Wilson. I'll take the cart back to the mess in the morning."

Jim took the cart into the bedroom, set out the food and they ate with gusto.

"I have about two hours of paperwork that I absolutely have to finish this evening," Jim told Bones after they finished eating.

"No problem, I'll watch a vid while you work. Have you heard from the Admirals yet?"

"Not yet, but I hope it won't be much longer"

Jim went into the living area to do the inspection reports for the yard dogs while Bones settled back to watch one of his old western holovids that he loved so much. Tonight it was "Gunfight at the OK Corral."

Jim was deep in his description of the warp core and impulse engine needs when his main comm beeped. It was Lt. Palmer the Beta shift communication officer. "Sir, you have a priority one comm from Admiral Northcutt."

"Pipe it here, Palmer."

"Aye, sir."

Jim punched in the de-encryption software and Admiral Northcutt's tired face appeared on the comm.

"Jim."

"Sir."

"Admiral Boyce is on his way to Alpha Centauri B and Antares Pharmaceuticals. The drug team reported in earlier and Boyce left immediately. The raid was a complete surprise. The team found major problems with the VC vaccines and other vaccines and drugs. The vaccines were scheduled to be delivered to various off world SF medical facilities next week. Some vaccines were at full strength and others were completely inert. The Admiral ordered every drug and vaccine in their warehouses destroyed. The forensics accounting team is still going over their financials, but the Admiral has ordered the arrest of the CEO, the CFO, and all the top and middle managers of the company. SFM has to find where all the defective vaccines and drugs were sent and replace them as soon as possible or the medical consequences could be horrendous. It's an incredibly difficult task." His handsome face looked bleak. "Boyce says it was a well planned conspiracy, to make bigger profits by watering down the strength of the vaccines and other drugs."

"Jesus, Admiral! That's unbelievable!"

"It is, and unconscionable." Northcutt rubbed his tired face. "I hate to say this, but if Dr. McCoy hadn't gotten ill, it might have been months or even years before we discovered the link to the defective vaccines. Please  tell him that, Jim. He's saved many SF lives. I hope that knowledge brings you both some comfort after all you've both been through."

I'll tell him, Admiral," Jim said, still stunned at the scope of the debacle.

"I'll keep you posted, this isn't over by a long shot, Jim. Northcutt out."

"Thank you, Admiral. Kirk out."

Jim closed the comm, saved all his reports and went into the bedroom. Bones was sound asleep, the holovid silent. Jim turned off the vid player, drew back the covers and slipped in beside Bones. He ran his fingers through the silky dark strands of Bones hair and Bones murmured in contentment. Thankful beyond words to have Bones here with him, Jim turned on his side so that he could gaze at the familiar features of that beloved face. How, he wondered, had he ever managed without Bones in his life. He scooted closer to the warm body in his arms and gave Leonard a small, soft kiss. "I don't know what I ever did to deserve you," he whispered. Tomorrow, he decided sleepily, tomorrow he'd tell Bones all about Antares pharmaceuticals.


	6. Chapter 6

**And Marriage is an Honorable Estate...**

**Chapter 6**

**"You are my best friend as well as my lover, and I do not know which side of you I enjoy the most.**

**I treasure each side, just as I have treasured our life together.”**

  
**Nicholas Sparks**

 

For the next couple of days, Bones kept to his bed following M'Benga's orders to the letter. Truth to tell, following Geoffrey's orders (under Jim's strict and constant eagle eye) to rest and eat well we're doing wonders for him. He was already feeling much better. Dr. M'Benga came in very early before Alpha shift to examine him. Leonard lay in bed eying Geoffrey's tricorder covetously as it swept over him, but M'Benga kept it deliberately turned away from him so he couldn't see the readings. Leonard frowned darkly at him, but Geoffrey ignored him as he continued with his examination.

When Geoffrey finished, he looked pleased. "You're much better, Leonard, your vitals are all good and your improvement is steady and constant. Tomorrow you can get up for an hour in the morning and for another hour in the afternoon. The day after, two hours in the morning and two in the afternoon provided you take a nap. The day after that you can resume light normal activities including not too strenuous sex," he grinned as Leonard blushed. "I still have a few provisos. No gym time yet, a nap every single day, and no skipping meals. You also have to stay well hydrated. You know that dehydration really stresses the body, so that's very important. We'll have you at 100 percent by the wedding day if you keep going the way you're going."

"That's fantastic" said Jim, leaning against the door frame, arms folded across his chest looking happy and relaxed. The stressed, worried look in his eyes was gone, his blue eyes were alight with happiness again. "I can't tell you how great that sounds, Geoffrey."

"Yes, well, Captain, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Leonard has a ways to go."

He looked sternly at Leonard. "Until all your blood tests are 100 percent and your energy level normal, we have to be careful and conservative with your continued treatment."

"Yeah, I know....I am the CMO on this boat, you know. Who would've thought you'd turn into such a medical tyrant, Geoffrey," McCoy growled.

"I learned from the best," M'Benga said serenely. "You and Christine."

Jim burst out laughing and Bones threw an irritated look at him.

"You know it's true, Bones." Jim chuckled.

"I'll check in with you this afternoon, Leonard. Don't forget your fluid intake and to take your nap. I'll see you both later."

Jim walked him to the door. "Thanks, Geoffrey. See you this afternoon."

Jim waited until the door closed then came to sit beside Bones on the bed. McCoy's arms closed around him. Jim leaned into the now much thinner but still hard body, breathed in the scent of his doctor, and kissed his neck. "Damn, Bones." Jim felt the knot of terror that he'd been carrying around in his heart since Bones' collapse loosen. He could finally let go of his fear and breathe easier. Bones ran his warm hands in comfort over Jim’s back and arms. "Scariest most horrible days of my life," Jim mumbled into Bones' neck. "Please don't ever do that again, Bonsey, I can't handle it."

Bones pulled back a little, cupped Jim's face and kissed him lightly. "Don't plan to, Jimmy." His hazel eyes clinically assessed Jim, checking him over, noting the slightly overwhelmed and glazed look of profound relief in the blue eyes. "Stop worryin'. I'm alright, gettin' stronger everyday, and I'm gonna' be just fine for our wedding."

"I know, Bones!" Jim smiled his most beautiful smile and kissed him. His arms tightened around Bones, his tongue tracing around the plush lips. He kissed Bones desperately, passionately, tenderly, ardently— his lips telling Bones how much he was loved, how happy he was with his recovery, while all the time his fingers danced over the tanned perfect skin he loved to feel under his hands. Leonard slipped his own calloused hand under Jim's shirts and lightly stroked him. The kiss quickly became heated and soon they were both panting. One kiss became two as Bones' mouth glued itself against Jim's. Jim keened softly and pulled Bones closer until he almost lost his balance and fell off the bed. Bones shifted, turned, and put his thigh in between Jim's legs, and that changed everything. With a groan from Jim, Bones swept his way fiercely back into Jim's mouth. Jim felt heat sweep all over his body, _bonesbonesbonesbones_ , he babbled, until suddenly he realized where this was going. With every ounce of will power in him, Jim forced himself to pull back, smiling grimly to himself at Bones' growl of protest. "No, no, Bones, we have to stop. We can't, baby, we can't." Jim pressed his forehead against Leonard's and willed his breathing to go back to normal. "We have to wait a couple of more days and then as soon as Geoffrey says it's alright we're going to make love through the night until the wee hours of the morning."

"Damn it, Jim! I want you now! It's been way too long! I hate this!"

"I know," Jim groaned, reluctantly pulled away and got off the bed. "I want you too, you have no idea how much." He pulled down his gold and black shirts and willed his raging erection to go away. He couldn't go to the bridge with that bulge in his pants. He drew in a deep breath. "There no way we're going to jeopardize your recovery, Bones. We just have to be patient a couple of more days."

"Jim, please, we won't do any thing strenuous," Bones cajoled. "I miss you!"

The door chime rang and Jim heaved a sigh of relief. It was probably Janice or Uhura coming early today.  The interruption couldn't have come at a better time. He only had so much self control and will power and they were presently hanging on by a thread. Since he was madly and desperately in need of Bones, it was a thread that had almost snapped.

"Come in." It was Uhura on her twice daily wedding planning visit. "Hi, Lieutenant." Jim called out gaily. "I hear from Bones that the wedding plans are almost complete." Uhura eyed his flushed face suspiciously, giving him a look as if she could read his mind. She and Leonard had been close friends since early Academy days and she had always been extremely protective of Bones and now since his illness even more so. That look made Jim unaccountably nervous. "Well, gotta go to the bridge, I asked Spock to take the comm while Geoffrey was here," Jim told Bones hurriedly. "See you at the end of shift. I'll bring dinner and a nice dessert and maybe even some beer." _Stop babbling, James_ , he told himself, almost running out the door. Uhura was one terrifying woman. Personally Jim would rather face a Klingon than a suspicious pissed off Uhura. It was a good thing that Spock was so stoic and totally had nerves of steel. 

He took the lift to the bridge and tried to slow down his racing heart. "Lift stop." He took time to check and adjust his pants, smooth down his shirts and run fingers through his hair. He took a few deep breaths to slow his racing pulse and finally felt calmer. Only Bones could reduce him to this ridiculous state of a 15 year old boy in the throes of a first passion.

For years, Jim had wanted Bones badly, wanted his life to be by Bones’ side. It made his heart hurt when he thought of things being different from that. He and Bones had worked hard to live and love each other regardless of what Jim had seen in that infamous mind meld on Delta Vega with Old Spock, events that could possibly still happen in this universe, no matter what they did.

Bones, a scientist to the core, had always scoffed at the idea of destiny, and for the most part so had Jim. They both firmly believed that people made their own destiny, but sometimes Jim succumbed to a deeply buried secret fear that some of those events would bleed into this, their universe. He had never voiced these fears out loud to Bones, mainly because Spock's very existence and presence on the ship had at one time caused Bones to doubt his place in Jim's life. Being married would go a very long way to assuaged those insecurities...for both of them. The truth was that Jim couldn't be without his doctor, so all the other known universes would just have to bend to accommodate the fact that in this universe it was  _JimandBones_.

"Resume," he told the lift, and it deposited him on the bridge. Chekov opened his mouth, but Jim raised his hand to forestall his usual 'Keptain on the bridge' call. Spock smoothly relinquished the Captain's chair and Jim sat down.

"How is Dr. McCoy this morning, Captain?"

"Much improved, Mr. Spock. Dr. M'Benga is very pleased with his progress."

"That is gratifying to hear."

"Lt. Uhura is with him now. The wedding plans are almost complete." Jim grinned happily.

Spock nodded." I gave her leave to visit early, to make the visit a little longer than usual. I knew it would ease the good doctor's mind to finalize the wedding plans."

Jim smiled at his First Officer. "Thanks, Spock. I think they're both enjoying themselves planning this wedding, Janice too." _Hmmm_ , Jim thought suddenly, _I better check with Scotty on our rings._

Spock nodded again and returned to his Science station.

"Status reports?" Jim asked his Alpha crew.

One by one the different bridge stations reported to him as the ship continued in route to Jupiter. Uhura returned to her station, at mid morning Janice brought in his daily mission status reports to read and sign and stood patiently by his side as he went though his reports one by one.

"Anything new on the wedding plans front, Janice?" Jim asked softly. He was careful about imposing his and Bones private lives and plans on the bridge crews.

"I'm going to see Dr. McCoy this afternoon, Captain. The last thing we're going to talk about will be the brunch flowers, decorations and linens. He mentioned something colorful and happy. The menu is Mexican, so different colors will be nice, don't you think so?"

Jim nodded happily. They all loved Mexican food! "Sounds perfect, Janice."

"Oh and Chekov volunteered to take pictures, Captain. You did say you wanted informal pictures, right?"

"Yep. Bones and I want lots of pictures of people having a great time, and that's very nice of Chekov to do that for us." Jim glanced at the young navigator, who was deeply engrossed at his station.

Janice smiled down at him. "We're all very happy for you, Captain, and happy to help out."

Uhura's comm beeped and Jim looked over to her. He saw her nod and swivel in her chair to face him.

"Captain, it's Admiral Northcutt. He'd like to speak to you on a priority one channel."

Jim sighed. Not good. Encrypted communications from Admirals were never happy times for Starship Captains.

"I'll take it in my ready room, Lieutenant."

Jim turned on his large comm unit and waited for the inevitable delay that always came with an encrypted communique from the Admiralty.

Northcutt's face loomed large on the screen.

"Admiral?"

"Jim...."

 _So first name, means an informal briefing,_ thought Jim.

"Admiral Boyce is back; Starfleet MPs have arrested and brought 17 Antares Pharmaceuticals officials back to Earth to stand trial. Two of them committed suicide before the MPs could get to them and four more are at large. Arrest warrants have been issued for them. They can't hide forever. We'll get them. They'll be tried in a military court because their contract to provide the vaccines and others drugs was exclusively for Starfleet. Admiral Boyce reported that the defective vaccines and drugs have all been destroyed except for samples that will be used as evidence. The Admiral and the forensic accounting team estimates that tampering with the vaccines started about 5 months ago when their profit margin fell due to increased competition for SF contracts and sudden lower costs of the vaccines components." Northcutt paused. "I've had all my people working day and night tracking where all the defective vaccines were sent. I think we're okay with that. In order to avoid panic, we've told doctors and medics that the booster timeline has been updated and booster vaccines are being sent out as quickly as possible. Thank God our other suppliers had warehoused enough of the vaccines so we can to get them out quickly to those who need them. We're using smaller transport ships with their medical cargos designated as routine so as not to alarm SF personnel and planetary governments. Imagine the inevitable questions and alarm that would be generated if Constallation and Constitution class Star Ships traveled all over the quadrant delivering vaccines." He sighed. "As you can imagine everything I'm telling you is highly classified."

"I understand, Sir."

"You are allowed to share this information with Drs. McCoy and M'Benga and your First Officer. No one else. One more thing, Jim, and I'll speak with Dr. McCoy and Dr. M'Benga about this later, but they will probably have to testify about McCoy contracting VC because of the defective vaccine. If your ship is on a mission, they may be able to get by with a deposition."

"Yes, Sir. I'm sure that won't be a problem with either of them. I still can't believe something like this could happen, Admiral."

"Lesson learned, Jim. Star Fleet must have more oversight for these drug companies. Inspections of their labs and warehouses without prior warnings for one thing and the same for their financials. We can't rely that these companies will always have the welfare of the public as a priority or that they'll take the moral high ground when they make medical or financial decisions."

Jim ran his hand through his hair. "They almost killed Bones. I hope they'll all pay heavily for that, Sir."

"You can bet the farm on that. I've never seen Dr. Boyce so furious. Justice will be served. Now then, tell me how Dr McCoy is doing, how the wedding plans are going?"

"He's doing great, Admiral. Dr M'Benga said he could resume normal activities in a couple of days, and the wedding plans are almost complete."

"Excellent! I'll see you at the wedding. I'm really looking forward to it."

"Yes, sir" Jim smiled at the Admiral's enthusiasm. "Did you get your invitation with all the pertinent information for the wedding and reception? My yeoman sent them to Ambassador Sarek and to you yesterday afternoon."

"I did, Jim." He grinned and the grin made him looked boyish. "Mexican food is my favorite."

"Mine too," Jim chuckled.

"I think that's all for today, Jim. See you soon. Northcutt out."

"Thank you Admiral. Kirk out."

The next two days passed very quickly for Jim, Spock and Scotty. They were swamped with work, but finally, to their collective relief, they finished the _Enterprise_ priority repair list. Scotty sent a copy to the Utopia Planitia Shipyard CO and their respective duty shifts went back to normal.

Geoffrey came by to check Bones one more time and declared him able to resume light everyday activities for the next few days. He could go to the mess and to the bridge, but not to the Med Bay! After that, he'd release him to resume all regular activities and duties just in time for the wedding and honeymoon.

"Geoffrey," said Jim, speaking softly at the door of their quarters. "I can't thank you enough for all you've done. You saved Bones' life. I will never be able to repay that debt."

"Captain, first of all its my job, and secondly Leonard is my friend as well as the best doctor I've ever known. It was a privilege to help him get well. No thanks are necessary, believe me. I'm just happy that what we did worked and he's going to fully recover."

"Nevertheless, you have my gratitude, Geoffrey. Thank you from the bottom of my heart." 

"You're very welcome, Captain," said an embarrassed Geoffrey. "I'll see you later."

Jim went back to the bedroom to find Bones waiting for him.

"Jim," Bones murmured. Jim went to him and Bones wrapped his arms tightly around him.

"My Bones," Jim whispered into his ear. "You're alright now. Thank God!"

Bones shifted to fit their bodies together and his lip nibbled at Jim's bottom lip as he rubbed against him. Jim grabbed Bones's head between both hands and kissed him frantically, hungry for the taste of him. He walked Bones backward to their bed and pulled him down to sit and straddled him carefully. "Bones," he moaned, nibbling at his lips and neck. "God! It's been too damn long." He hurriedly pulled off his shirts and wiggled out of his pants, and briefs, then quickly helped Bones take off his pajamas.

Suddenly they were both naked. Jim sighed happily and pressed himself into Bones until he felt like his body was melting into him. He tucked his face against McCoy’s jaw line and Bones’s arms pulled him in tighter.

“I missed you so, I missed this," he whispered into McCoy’s neck.

“So did I, darlin’...so much," Bones whispered back.

Jim pulled back just enough to kiss Bones. The passion Jim always felt simmering inside him when he was around Bones flared instantly. Having Bones like this again made Jim feel dizzy, out of control, skin burning hot, yet he was mindful and careful of Bones as he broke away from the kiss. “Please, Bones,” he panted and Bones stroked his face.

“I’ve got you, darlin’,” Bones murmured as Jim pulled him even closer. "I want to make love to you," Jim whispered slowly and sweetly in his ear, pressing kisses to his eyelids, his cheek bones, crooning words of love and passion softly in Bones' ear.

Jim's mouth traveled down to lave and kiss repeatedly at one of Bones sensitive nipples. Bones' sharp intake of breath and the tightening of his hand on his bicep rewarded him. Jim leaned back and gripped the base of Bones' cock in the loose circle of his fingers loving it's hardness and velvety feel.

"Jim," Bones said hoarsely running his fingers through the sandy hair. Jim closed his eyes, lost in sensation. Bones reached for him and pulled him back up against his body. Both of them hissed as their cocks brushed together, hot, slick and inviting, slotting perfectly against each other. Distantly, Jim heard Bones muttering, voice pitched so low it was hard to make out. “Jim, Jim, Jim...love you, love you so much," he gasped, his breathing harsh and uneven.

Jim brought a hand up to palm at their cocks, eager, clumsy with need. Leonard let out a keening sound at the touch. Jim felt tears prickling his eyes. Bones was safe in his arms, healthy again, Jim touching him, loving him once more.

Jim groaned and licked eagerly at Bones' lips until he had to draw back for a breath. He trailed soft kisses over Bones' face, his hand tightening over their cocks. Leonard's hand came down to cover Jim's as their two hands sped up and their breaths grew harsh and frantic. Jim let out a hoarse shout as his orgasm suddenly barreled through him, his body arching with the power of his climax. White noise filled his ears as his cock pulsed, splashing their chests and stomachs with cum. He sagged forward after his arms gave out, dimly aware of Bones' harsh breath and low groan as his orgasm immediately followed Jim's. They clutched each other tightly as they came down from their climaxes and Jim rolled them down on the bed to arrange them both on their sides, his legs tangling with Leonard’s, arms tight around each other.

Jim found Bones' hand and laced their fingers together. He reached over the side of the bed grabbing his black t-shirt and used it to clean the semen and sweat off of both, then pulled Bones towards him again. They lay there face to face, arms and legs wrapped possessively around each other. Jim sighed. "God, I can't even express how I feel right now, Bones. I just don't have the words."

Bones hummed contently. “'Cause it's love, darlin',” Bones' hazel eyes looked deeply into the azure blue ones. "Real honest to God, mad, passionate, crazy love. It's hard to put those kinds of feelings into words, unless you’re a damned poet, which we aren’t."

The lay together quietly, sated and blissed out for a while. Then Jim told Bones everything that Admiral Northcutt had shared with him about the Antares Pharmaceuticals arrests.

"I guess they threw the 'First do no harm' medical code out the window," Bones said. "I just don't understand how anyone could do somethin' like that."

"Of course you don't, Bones," Jim said. "You'll never understand, because first and foremost you're a good man, the best man I know, secondly because you're a healer to your core. Someone like you could never understand people like that."

Bones' high cheekbones pinked a little. "You sure have a high opinion of me, Jim."

"Nope, just an accurate opinion of your character. Oh, and Admiral Northcutt asked me to tell you something." He told Bones about the possibility of he and M'Benga having to testify at the trial.

"No problem with me. Anything to put those bastards in prison where they belong," Bones assured him.

"I told him so," Jim said. He sat up, naked and lithe on the bed, grabbed his briefs, pants and gold shirt from where he'd thrown them on the floor and got up. "Are you ready for some dinner, Bonsey? I'm getting hungry."

Bones nodded. "Yeah, I could eat." He grimaced. "I have to or M'Benga will find out somehow," he added, as he put his flannel pajamas back on.

"I'll comm the mess. Want me to order for you?"

"Yeah, I'm sure Muriel still has M'Benga's menu list. Man treats me like a kid," he grumbled, going to the bathroom.

Jim just grinned and flipped open his comm. McCoy had finally met his match. Someone who wasn't afraid of him and didn't back down no matter how irate Bones got. Who knew that M'Benga had it in him?

"Dinner will be here soon," he said. "After dinner I think I'll comm mom and give her our ETA. She'll want to arrive in San Francisco when we do."

Jim came up to Bones and hugged him hard. "In three days well be at the Jupiter Space Station, then straight on to San Francisco, the following day we're getting married. Never, ever letting you go. Never. I'm so happy, Bones," he whispered, eyes brimming with joy.  Jim leaned in for a slow possessive kiss. The _Enterprise_ crew might be his surrogate family, but Bones was his heart's resting place, and very soon with Bones, with Joanna, with Sam and his family, with Eleonora, and with his mom too, Jim would finally, finally, have a real family.

"Me too darlin'. I cain't wait."


	7. Chapter 7

**And Marriage is an Honorable Estate.....**

**Chapter 7**

**"This is the moment**  
**I've waited for**  
**I can hear my heart singing**  
**Soon bells will be**

 **Here and now dear,**  
**All my love,**  
**I vow dear**  
**Promise me that you will leave me never**  
**I will love you longer than forever..."**

**The Hawaiian Wedding Song**

 

 _Enterprise_ came into sight of the huge Jupiter Space Station, and the excitement on the bridge as the planet came into view was palpable. The lift door opened and Bones walked in for the first time since he'd gotten ill. Surprised, pleased, happy faces greeted him as he walked to stand at his usual spot behind Jim.

"Welcome back, Doctor McCoy," came a chorus from the bridge crew and Jim looked up at him to give him a blinding grin!

"Released for regular light duty as per Dr. M'Benga as of ten minutes ago, Captain." Bones smiled down at him, dimples prominent.

"Excellent!" Jim said, blue eyes alight. "Welcome back to the bridge, Dr. McCoy!"

He turned back to the helm. "Mr. Sulu, bring us in to space dock, one-fourth c. Please inform Planitia that _Enterprise_ is ready for docking "

"Aye, Captain." Sulu's sure hands glided over the helm controls. "We're sub light now, Captain, and we have our vector."

"Put it on the screen, Lieutenant, so we can see her come in." All eyes were on the screen as the stately ship glided into the space dock. They saw her shimmering primary and secondary discs and her nacelles silhouetted against the Planitia exterior stanchions that greeted all incoming ships. Then, as the crew watched the screen, they saw her rolling slowly on her longitudinal axis in a small roll. 

"Mr. Sulu, belay that," Jim said, trying to sound stern, but a faint smile was on his face as he mock frowned at the mischievous helmsman.

"Aye, Captain." Sulu grinned, as he glanced up at Jim's smiling face. Chekov snorted into his console.

"Planitia is ready on our main umbilical, Captain," reported Uhura from her station.

"Good. Keep it on the screen, Uhura. Let's watch them do it."

"Maneuvering thrusters, Mr. Sulu." With a flick of his fingers, Sulu brought the ship silently forward until she was exactly at dry dock center.

Jim gave the order. "Engage the main umbilical." He waited for acknowledgement from the Planitia Ship Traffic Controllers and when it came, he flashed a grin at his beaming command crew and an even bigger grin at Bones who put a warm hand on his shoulder.

" _Enterprise_ is now under the control of Planitia, Captain," Uhura reported. "They say Welcome home and request we empty the ship."

"Thank you, Lt. Uhura. Please have the department heads usher all hands to the transporters to begin emptying the ship. Notify Mr. Scott that ship command is now transferred to him and that we'll see him tomorrow."

"Aye, Sir. All docking procedures are now completed, Captain. All paper work is filed."

Kirk rose from the command chair and stretched his cramped muscles. "All hands are relieved from duty," he told the bridge crew then watched as everyone except for Bones, Spock, Uhura, Sulu and Chekov exited the bridge.

"Bones and I will see all of you tomorrow. The wedding ceremony is very simple, so we felt there was no need for a wedding rehearsal. Uhura and Janice have already sent everyone information about the reception and the ceremony. The old chapel is very small, just room enough for you, our dearest friends, our two families and the Admiral. Bones and I wanted it to be warm and intimate." He looked gratefully at Uhura. "Thank you for all you did, Nyota, you and Janice."

"It was a lot of fun, Captain, and our pleasure."

Bones nodded. "You two are the best, darlin'. Can't tell you how it relieved my mind to know you were handlin' things."

Uhura leaned in to give Leonard a soft kiss on the cheek."We were happy to do it. See you tomorrow at the chapel. Janice and I will be there early to help out with last minute details."

"Spock, have you heard from Sarek?"

"Yes, Captain, he is already at the Embassy. Nyota and I will join him there shortly."

Uhura grabbed Spock's hand. "Time to go, Spock," and they left for the transporter room.

"We're ready to go too, Bones. Janice already had our luggage beamed down to the ST officers' quarters. Mom sent me a message earlier that she's checked in to the guest quarters and that Sam and his family will arrive a little later today."

"Mama sent me one too. She and Joanna are already checked in."

"What about an early dinner with all of us together? Feel up to it, Bonesy?"

"Absolutely! Can't wait to see Joanna and everyone."

They made their way to the transporter room. Scotty was there manning the transporter himself, Keenser beside him. Where Scotty was, Keenser was. "All hands are planet side, Sir. You and the doctor are the last."

"Excellent, Scotty. We're ready," Jim said. "See you and Keenser at the chapel tomorrow." They stepped up to the transporter pad and Jim said, "Energize."

They materialized in their temporary quarters. SF guest quarters for officers and their families were adequate, but not lavish. Jim saw that their luggage was already deposited on the floor. The ever efficient Janice had made sure their dress uniforms were safe in their bags and on the bed. Bones hung up the bags and meanwhile Jim left a message for Sam who was still in transit and then conferenced commed both his mom and Eleonora to meet them at San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf for an early dinner at The Lobster Palace.

"Bones still has to rest for an hour every day, Dr. M'Benga said," he told his mom and Eleanora, then glanced at Leonard who grimaced.

"See that he does, Jim. Leonard can be very stubborn." Eleanora's smile could be heard in her voice.

"I will. We'll see you all later. Mom, you know which shuttle to take?"

"Yes, I do. Don't you worry about us, dear. We'll be fine. See you later at the restaurant."

Jim closed his comm, moved to the bed and pulled back the bed spread. "Alright, Dr. McCoy, beddy bye for you," he smirked. He grinned at Bones' scowl. "I can make it worth your while if you come to bed," he said, mock leering at Leonard. 

"Well, darlin' why didn't you say so in the first place?" Leonard asked, quickly pulling off his uniform. Jim did the same and they settled in the bed. Leonard's arms went around Jim and he made contented noises which seeped into Jim's ear. Bones' body curled into him, managing to completely surround him and Jim whimpered in pleasure. Leonard kissed Jim's face, his temples, his brows and cheekbones, he kissed along his jaw to his earlobe, nuzzling him.

Bones made a noise against Jim's throat, low and rough, possessive. Jim reached for him, his heart rate increasing at the sound, and he pressed Leonard's wrists to the bed to kiss him passionately, their tongues tangling together. Bones kissed him back, slowly, tenderly, trying to slow things down, conveying with lips and tongue and hands how he deeply felt, how much he loved Jim.

After long moments, Jim drew back and nibbled along Bones' jaw then down his neck to his chest. Jim mumbled incoherently as Bones arched his body up to give him better access. Jim dropped kisses across Bones' collarbone making Bones hum in pleasure. As always, the passion between them flared instantly, their love making becoming wildly intense, by turn, tender, passionate, ardent and erotic. Jim was soon breathing harshly, curling his shoulders down, both hands fisted in McCoy's hair.

“Now, Bones. I can't wait any more, love you so much, need you,” he babbled. Bones wrapped his legs around him and Jim prepared him carefully, slowly. Finally, Jim slid carefully into him, moving slowly until he bottomed out. He waited for Bones to relax enough to move.

“Jim, it feels so good," Bones gasped. "Come on, darlin', move!  Missed this. Love you, Jimmy!"

He reached up to grasp Jim's hand, threading their fingers and slotted their mouths together in a deep kiss as Jim thrust frantically until Bones climaxed. Jim buried himself in Bones, gasping as he rode out his orgasm. Afterward, they lay entwined together, sated and sleepy. Jim carded his fingers lovingly through Leonard's hair. "Love you so much. You, Bones, have only ever loved you." He sighed. "Always so much passion, so intense between us, always so good...," Jim murmured sleepily and settled against his chest. "Sleep now, Bonsey."

They slept long and deeply and woke up just in time to shower and dress before catching the shuttle to Fisherman's Wharf. Winona had asked for a large table in a smaller separate room and she, Eleanora, Joanna, Sam, Aurelan, and the children were already there when they arrived. It was a joyous, loud, affectionate reunion of the two families. Jim was hugged tightly and kissed by Winona. "Hi sweetheart," she whispered in his ear. "Leonard looks healthy and you look happy."

"I am, mom. Very happy." He whispered back. "He's the love of my life."

She nodded. "I know what that feels like, Jim, and I'm so happy for you."

Jim turned and hugged Sam. "Thanks for coming, big brother. It means a lot to me."

"I wouldn't miss it, little brother. How often does my baby brother get hitched. Had to be here." Sam ruffled his hair affectionately.

As Jim hugged Aurelan, and the children, Peter and little Georgie, he gave silent thanks that they had all come so far. All of them had worked hard to mend their wounded relationships, finally becoming a family again after so many years.

Bones' hazel eyes shone brightly as Joanna threw herself in his arms, his dimples comimg out full force as he hugged her tightly. "Jo Jo, sweetheart," he murmured.

She looked up from her father's hug at Jim and threw him a blissful grin.

He grinned back at her, opened his arms and she left her dad to come to him. "Jo Bear," he said, hugging her hard.

"Uncle Jim," she said, her small arms tight around the waist. "I'm so glad to see you and daddy finally getting married." She looked up at him, her blue eyes glinting mischievously. "Guess I'll have to give you a new name starting tomorrow...what do you think, maybe Papa, Daddy Jim, or Pops?"

Jim beamed down at her, warmth blooming in his chest.  "Whatever you want, Jo Bear. I'm good with whatever you decide,"  he said, dropping a kiss on the curly brown head, then moving to hug Eleanora.

"Thank you for taking such good care of Leonard, Jim. I know how stubborn he can be when he's sick," she told him as she hugged him tightly.

"He is, but between Dr. M'Benga, Christine and I, he didn't stand a chance."

They all found their chairs around the large table and the wait staff came to take their orders. Conversation flowed happily across the table as they ate. Dinner was a delicious, if messy affair of salad, fries, and fresh buttered lobster which dribbled down Leonard's shirt, but which he said was worth it.

They made it an early evening, mindful of Bones' recovering stamina and their long day tomorrow. "We'll see you tomorrow at the chapel," said Winona as they stood outside after dinner. "Is there anything you'd like for me to do tomorrow, dear?"

"No thanks, mom. I think everything's done. All I want is for Sam to keep me standing since my knees will be knocking," laughed Jim. "Goodnight, everybody."

"My knees will be too, Sam, so be ready," said Leonard. "See you all tomorrow. Bye, mama, bye baby girl. I love you, give your daddy a kiss," he told Joanna.

"Goodnight daddy, love you more," Joanna said, kissing him. "Don't be nervous, I'll be there to help you."

"That'll be perfect," said McCoy.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Starfleet Academy chapel, though very old and one of the few remaining intact original buildings at the Academy, was lovely. The roof was gabled slate and the brick facade was a lovely mellow rose that was meticulously taken care of. The interior walls were cream stucco with the rosewood pulpit built high to the right of the simple white altar which was set close to the rear wall. Since the chapel was small, the pews were all the large family type. There were discreetly placed recessed lights in the ceiling, but the pulpit and the altar were back-lit by a large window facing the Academy garden which was in full bloom.

Winona, Eleonora, Uhura and Janice, had found four tall clear glass vases for the masses of Sweet Peas, Lilacs and Baby's Breath they’d chosen. They had decorated the chapel the afternoon before and had draped a pale blue cloth on the altar with two very large glass vases filled with the beautiful fresh flowers placed on it. The other two vases were placed in front, on the floor to the right and left of the altar. They placed small sprigs of Sweet Peas and Baby's Breath tied with blue ribbons on each pew. The effect of the blue flowers lit by light from the window against the creamy white pews was lovely, elegant and simple.

One by one the _Enterprise_ command crew made their way into the chapel to take their seats. Sarek, dressed in his formal Vulcan robes came in first, then Uhura with Spock. Janice, Scotty and Keenser, were next. Chekov, Sulu, Christine Chapel and Geoffrey M'Benga came in together and finally Admiral Northcutt came striding in, handsome in his Admiral’s dress uniform. Aurelan walked in with the children and sat in the front pew with Georgie on her lap, both children dressed in tiny suits. When everyone was seated, Sam brought Eleanora and Joanna in from the vestibule to stand to the left of the altar by Leonard’s side, then he walked back for Winona and he and his mother took their places to the right of the altar by Jim’s side.

The two mothers and Joanna looked lovely, dressed in shades of blue and lilac, and Sam looked impressively handsome in his dark blue suit, stripped blue tie, and brilliant white shirt. Chekov happily took several pictures of the group.

The Academy Chaplin walked in, tall and stately. He smiled and nodded at everyone then stood at the front of the altar.

The lovely strains of Pachelbel's Canon played softly as Jim and Bones, resplendent in their dress uniforms walked in together and stood between the two families. The Chaplin carefully opened the ancient copy of The Book Of Common Prayer that he carried and began.

 _"_ Dear friends and family,  
We have come together to witness the joining together of these men in Matrimony. The union of husbands in heart, body, and mind is intended for their mutual joy and for the help and comfort of one another in prosperity and adversity. Therefore marriage is not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently and deliberately.

James and Leonard. Please join hands and face each other _._

James, will you have this man to be your husband; to live together in the covenant of marriage? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?"

"I will," Jim said, his shining blue eyes never leaving Bones' own.

"Leonard will you have James to live together in the covenant of marriage? Will you love him comfort him honor and keep him in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?"

"I will." Bones said solemnly, his voice thick with emotion.

"Please repeat after me:

"I, James, take you, Leonard to be my husband to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow."

"I, Leonard take you, James, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow."

"May we have the rings?" The Chaplin asked Sam, who handed them over to him.

"These rings are a sign of the vows by which these two have bound themselves to each other." He gave one to Jim and the other to Leonard. "Now each of you repeat after me." 

"Leonard, I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you."

 "Jim, I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you."

"Now that James and Leonard have given themselves to each other by solemn vows, with the joining of hands and the giving and receiving of a ring, I pronounce that they are husbands to each other. May they have wisdom and devotion in the ordering of their common life, may each be to the other a strength in need, a counselor in perplexity, a comfort in sorrow, and a companion in joy."

He looked solemnly at all of those present. "Those who are joined together let no one put asunder."

He closed the book and said, "Friends, family, may I present Jim and Leonard Kirk-McCoy."

Jim and Bones turned to face their guests who cheered, clapped and came up to hug them. Chekhov began snapping more pictures as fast as he could.

Spock and Sarek stood a little apart until Jim turned to face them.

"May I offer my congratulations, James. It is gratifying to see the two of you are bonded at last."

"Thank you for being here, Ambassador. It’s an honor to have you here. Bones and I owe you a lot."

Vulcans didn't suffer from false modesty so Sarek nodded his acknowledgement.

"I hope you'll join us for lunch, Sir. We'd be honored if you could attend the reception."

"I will, James. I must confess to being partial to Mexican food," Sarek said bemusedly. "Amanda introduced me to it and I found that I quite enjoyed it."

Jim smiled at that and looked over to see Bones deep in conversation with the Admiral and Uhura with the Chaplin.

"I'm happy you'll be able to join us, Ambassador. Excuse me for a minute, please." Jim walked over to the Chaplin and Uhura. "Sir, thank you for officiating, it was a beautiful ceremony. We'd be honored if you would join us for lunch. Bones and I have rented a large shuttle to transport everyone."

The Chaplin looked pleased. "Thank you,Captain. If you're sure I won't be intruding."

"Certainly not, Chaplin." Uhura assured him. "Come," she said leading him, "let me introduce you to everyone."

Jim went to join Bones and the Admiral. "A beautiful ceremony, Jim. I was just telling Leonard how much I enjoyed it"

"Thank you, Sir. Bones and I are very happy you could be here with us."

"Will you introduce me to your mother, Jim? I met Mrs. McCoy in the vestibule."

"Of course, Admiral." Jim led him to his mother, kissed her on the cheek and said softly, "the flowers are beautiful mom." He introduced the Admiral to her and looked up and caught Janice's eye. The transport shuttle had arrived. He raised his voice to tell everyone. 

The shuttle driver was efficient so the trip to the restaurant didn't take long. The Mexican restaurant, Los Portales, was a family establishment that had been around for a long time and was famous for its excellent food and fine service. Janice had reserved a large private room and the restaurant had decorated the tables to her specifications. Bright primary colored table cloths were on the tables and huge paper flowers in vases provided additional color. The dishes were multi colored and the whole room was alight and bright. A large buffet table was groaning with delicious looking food and desserts and there was an open bar. Champagne flutes were also on the table to toast the newly weds. Chekov, his tousled curls bouncing, made his way to the different groups taking many pictures.

Jim and Bones circled the room, stopping to talk to everyone and enjoying the relaxed atmosphere and happy people. Jim checked on the two children who sat at a small table and entertained themselves on Aurelan's and Eleonora's padds, while Georgie watched everything from his mother’s lap. Jim leaned and kissed the curly blond head. “He’s been so good,” he whispered to Aurelan.

”it’s sll the color and activity, he loves that.” She said, handing Georgie a piece of fruit. 

Jim went up to his mother and Sam. "Mom, if it's still fine with you, we'll come back from our honeymoon and spend a couple of days with you and a couple of days with Joanna and Eleanora in Georgia."

"I'd love it, sweetheart," Winona told him. "Sam and Aurelan and the children are going back to the farm with me for a few days before going back to Deneva. It will be wonderful to have them there."

Sam," Jim told his big brother, "I wish you'd consider staying at the farm until we get back. It would be great to get to spend more time with all of us together."

"Maybe I can swing it, Jim. I'll comm you after I check in with the boss and let you know. By the way, where are you and Leonard going on your honeymoon? I don't think anyone's mentioned it." Jim grinned as Leonard came up to them and put an arm around Jim's shoulder. "We're going to Ireland and Scotland....getting back to our respective Kirk, McCoy roots, and we're planning to research the Kirk and McCoy surnames as we travel around. We''ll go where the wind blows us, right, Bones?"

"Yep, no duties, no Med Bay emergencies, no rampaging Klingons or Romulans, and no call on the Captain's time."

The clinking of a fork on glass got their attention. It was Uhura. "Will the best man come forward to give the toasts?"

"That's me," Sam said, and went to the front of the room as the waiters filled the flutes with champagne for the adults and sparkling cider of the children. He stood in front of the buffet table holding his champagne flute high.

"It's with great pleasure that I stand before you, Jim's and Leonard's family and closest friends, to wish them well in this, their new life as spouses. Please everyone, lift your glasses in a toast."

He looked affectionately at Jim and Leonard and lifted his glass. "It is written, that when you find true love, your friends and your family who love you, also find true joy. May you be friends to each other as only lovers can be, and may you love each other as only best friends can do. Here's to your happiness and joy and ours too from this day forward. To Jim and Leonard!"

"Here, here! To Jim and Leonard!" Everyone clinked their flutes and drank happily.

Then Sam announced! "Let's eat,"

And eat they did. The food was plentiful and delicious. Jim smiled to himself as he saw Sarek very obviously enjoying his cheese enchiladas and guacamole. Admiral Northcutt was happily eating and engaged deep in conversation with Scotty and Keenser. The reception lasted well into the early afternoon until it was time for the newly married couple to leave. Uhura had arranged for a limo shuttle to pick them up to take them to the transporter station.

They all followed Jim and Leonard when they went outside the restaurant where the limo shuttle was parked; there were more hugs and kisses exchanged (except for the two Vulcans) as they got into the shuttle and waved goodbye to everyone through the large window.

As the limo took off, the two men settled into the back seat of the luxurious shuttle; Jim sighed happily. "Finally, we're alone, Bonsey. It was a really a beautiful wedding and reception, don't you think?"

"Absolutely! Uhura and Janice and our moms did a fantastic job," Bones said. "We'll have to bring them and Jo Jo somethin' real nice from our trip. But the most important thing about this day is that we belong to each other now, Jimmy. You're mine, and I'm yours...forever."

Jim leaned in to kiss Bones softly. "I know. I'm so happy, Bones." He looked down at their clasped hands. "You haven't had a chance to really look at our rings yet."

"I did, Jim. They're really beautiful. Scotty did a fantastic job. They're perfect."

"I want you to look inside our rings, Bones," he said slipping his off his finger. Bones did the same. Inside of Jim's ring was the inscription:

_For wherever you go, I will go. LHM~JTK_

And Bones' ring was engraved with:

_Wherever you live, so shall I live. JTK~LHM_

Bones looked up from reading the inscriptions and this eyes glistened. "Jim."

"My Bones. Forever, at last." And Jim smiled his most angelic smile.

 

                              **Fin**


End file.
